The State of the DFS Market in the States – Update

New York judge Manuel Mendez ordered that daily fantasy sports companies DraftKings and FanDuel cease operations in the state on Friday. Both companies immediately filed appeals, which resulted in the temporary lifting of Judge Mendez's ruling until a decision is made on whether or not DFS is legal in the United States. The appeal, filed within hours of the injunction, also puts a stop to New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's attempts to take action against DraftKings and FanDuel until the January 2016 hearing takes place to determine the legality of DFS. DraftKings legal representative David Boies said, “We look forward to a full and fair hearing and are confident we will demonstrate clearly to the Court why we should be able to continue to offer our DFS games in New York permanently. We are encouraged by our dialogue this week with New York state legislators. We look forward to continuing that conversation.” Randy Mastro, another DraftKings lawyer, said, “The day has ended well and now New Yorkers who love daily fantasy sports can continue to play. The takeaway from today is these are legal questions that deserve a full airing. We believe that when we have our full day in court, we will prevail.” In a statement, the New York AG said, “We look forward to demonstrating to the appellate division why they should uphold today's decision to grant a preliminary injunction barring DraftKings and FanDuel from continuing their illegal gambling operations in New York.” PayPal was also effected by the decision as, hours before, it had made the decision to stop allowing DFS transactions in the state of New York. The payment processor said, “We have been monitoring the ongoing legal developments closely and in light of the court's ruling we are working with our merchants to stop processing transactions related to the daily fantasy sports category in New York State. We know there are passionate voices on both sides of this issue, and we regret any disappointment this causes.”