The state of New York recently witnessed a ruling which has the potential to reshape the gaming field, as in a recent ruling Acting Supreme Court Justice Gerald W. Connolly stated that daily fantasy sports operation is in direct breach of the existing gambling regulation within the borders of the state. According to him, all contests should come to an end, which threatens the future New York operation of DFS giants such as DraftKings and FanDuel.
This Monday was a crucial one for the gaming field of New York, as the most recent ruling triggered a chain of events which could not be stopped. The ruling claims that all daily fantasy sports contest should be considered gambling activities instead of simply games of contest as it has been the case up until this point.
As a result of this ruling, said contests are now considered to be directly violating the existing constitution of New York and essentially scrapping a 2016 law.
Recent Ruling Threatens Field
It could be recalled that back then Governor Andrew Cuomo gave his nod to a regulation which claimed that the said contests are a mere game of skill which does not make them illegal according to the constitution language. This allowed the two DFS giants to enter the field and operate in a legal manner, raking up considerable revenue, as the market is among the best performing within the US.
NEW: state judge in New York declares daily fantasy sports contests to be gambling, not games of contest. Cornelius Murray, lawyer who brought the #DFS case, says state should immediately shut down the contests in New York. Awaiting word from NY attorney general.
— Tom Precious (@TomPreciousALB) October 29, 2018
When taking into consideration the annual taxes generated by the DFS field, they reach more than $5 million. The ruling comes as a result of a previously filed lawsuit considering the problem gambling aspect of this gaming activity and its wide popularity, not necessarily having a positive impact on players.
Recovering gaming addicts have raised the awareness that DFS might not be that harmless, eventually prompting the lawsuit filed by Stop Predatory Gambling organization fighting compulsive gambling, supported by Attorney Cornelius Murray. Further deliberation on the subject had Justice Connolly state that the gaming activity intrinsically involves possible outcomes which the game can have, defining it as a game of chance.
It could be recalled that this is not the first challenge against the DFS operators in New York, as the year 2015 saw a ruling shutting down their operation as a form of gambling. Several months later, amendments to the existing law brought operation back to life.
Lawmakers’ Next Step Anticipated
However, now the ball is in the state lawmakers field, as they are going to have the last saying on whether or not daily fantasy sports operators will have the right to continue operation in New York. Even though the games were highlighted as unconstitutional by the recent ruling, along with it Justice Connolly made it clear that officials could potentially change the entire direction of this debate.
State lawmakers have the power to make the necessary changes which will see daily fantasy sports excluded from the list of unconstitutional activities. Penalties imposed on individuals participating in such could be nixed. There is still time until the ultimate decision is taken, during which the two major companies would most probably be obliged to cease their New York operation.
Another projected move would be for the state to make an appeal against this ruling, winning more operation time for the two companies. Upcoming weeks will see more development and the potential final decision of the state whether or not daily fantasy sports will continue its widely-popular operation.
