Will more states follow suit?
FanDuel and DraftKings have suffered another blow to their empire this week, with reports that Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has declared that the two companies are now illegal.
According to law, it doesn’t even matter whether their games are based on skill or chance, both are outlawed in the state if it involves playing for money.
FanDuel put out a statement following the news, addressing their position on the ruling:
“Chicago may be the best sports town in the country. It’s a city — and Illinois is a state — that plays fantasy sports like almost no other. ‘The League’ is even set in Illinois. So why the Attorney General would tell her 13.5 million constituents they can’t play fantasy sports anymore as they know it — and make no mistake, her opinion bans all forms of fantasy sports played for money — is beyond us. Hopefully the legislature will give back to the people of Illinois the games they love. A sports town like Chicago and a sports loving state like Illinois deserves nothing less.”
The state has the third most fantasy players in the country, only trailing New York and California, so this is a big financial hit to both companies, considering two of the three biggest states have now banned the legal play of the “sport” to their residents.
As of now, FanDuel listed Arizona, Iowa, New York, Louisiana, Nevada and Montana as states that won’t allow the companies to operate legally, while DraftKings doesn’t include New York and adds Washington to the list. Neither lists Illinois as of yet.
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