A New York-based anti-gambling group is suing the State in hopes of stopping the daily fantasy sports business in its tracks.
According to a lawsuit filed last week by a group called Stop Predatory Gambling, a deal struck recently by lawmakers that allowed the daily fantasy sports industry to continue operating in the state was illegal. Their contention, as expressed in the lawsuit, is that the state would need to amend its constitution in order to legally allow industry to operate.
At the heart of the group’s challenge is passage of New York State gaming law which reads:
No law shall be passed… except as hereinafter provided, no lottery or the sale of lottery tickets, pool-selling, bookmaking, or any other kind of gambling, except lotteries operated by the state …except pari-mutuel betting on horse races … and except casino gambling at no more than seven facilities as authorized and prescribed by the legislature shall hereafter be authorized or allowed within this state…
They bolster their argument by pointing out that State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman used that same passage as the basis for his argument against the industry earlier this year.
Supporters of the industry, including a number of state senators, maintain that the State’s legislative bodies have tremendous leeway (and the final say) as to what is and is not gambling in the Empire State.
Fortunately for the daily fantasy sports industry, they’re free to continue operating in New York until the lawsuit is settled and that could take month or years to reach a conclusion. That said, if Stop Predatory Gambling is successful, the daily fantasy sports industry will have some new, and very serious problems to deal with.