Difference Of Opinion
Difference Of Opinion
The Virginia Attorney General has issued an opinion on certain DFS contests that conflict with the game's current licensed status with regulators.
The Bulletin Board
NEWS: Virginia is the latest state to cast a critical eye at DFS 2.0 contests, but operators point to their licensed and regulated status.
NEWS: Analysts: ESPN Bet is expanding the sports betting market and tapping into a coveted demographic.
NEWS: My updated online sports betting candidate list heading into 2024.
QUICK HITTER: Former Jacksonville Jaguars employee Amit Patel pleads guilty to stealing $22 million from the team’s virtual credit card program.
AROUND the WATERCOOLER: How do you discuss gambling with kids?
STRAY THOUGHTS: Theory vs. Reality.
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Virginia AG Questions the Legality of DFS 2.0
As reported on Monday, Virginia Attorney General Jason S. Miyares has issued a negative opinion against vs.-the-house daily fantasy sports contests, concluding that anyone offering such contests must abide by the state’s sports betting rules.
The opinion is the result of an inquiry from Virginia Del. Wren M. Williams, who requested an official advisory opinion.
Per Miyares:
It is my opinion that, because fantasy contests require multiple customers competing against each other, a gambling arrangement that involves customers betting on athletes' performance metrics against an operator's established baseline, and not other contest participants, constitutes sports betting as defined in Virginia Code§ 58.1-4030.
[…]
Accordingly, it is my opinion that when a customer places a bet related to individual athletes' performance metrics, the outcome of which is determined by reference to a contest operator's established baseline rather than choices made by other customers, the customer is engaged in sports betting and not a fantasy contest.
Allison Harris, a spokesperson for the Coalition for Fantasy Sports (representing PrizePicks, Underdog Fantasy, and Sleeper), told Saturday Down South that the group disagrees with the opinion and highlighted its current relationship with state regulators and their licensed status.
“We disagree with the Attorney General’s opinion and look forward to continuing our positive working relationship with our governing agencies in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The opinion does not supersede the licensing process in place as established by the Virginia General Assembly. The Office of Charitable and Regulatory Programs (OCRP) is responsible for administering the Fantasy Contests Act in the Commonwealth. Our member companies are licensed and continue to operate legally in Virginia.”
The most intriguing aspect of this story is highlighted by Harris, who notes that these DFS contests and their operators are licensed and regulated in Virginia. Still, the AG is opining that they are illegal.
Author’s Note: Underdog Fantasy is a newsletter sponsor.
Analyst: ESPN Bet Is Expanding the Market
Bank of America analyst Shaun Kelley said ESPN Bet’s debut is “proving to be bigger than anticipated.”
According to Kelley, ESPN Bet isn’t simply taking market share from existing books; it’s expanding the market and bringing in a new segment of bettors.
“It’s our sense ESPN Bet could be growing the market through more casual and female bettors compared to other sportsbooks,” Kelley said in his investor’s note.
But as Alec Driscoll remarked on X, we need some evidence:
Let’s assume that ESPN Bet is bringing in new bettors (male or female). To expand on Kelley’s point, if ESPN Bet is bringing in new bettors, it’s doing so in existing sports betting states. These are bettors who, for whatever reason, have abstained from betting until now.
The consensus is that the customers ESPN Bet is poaching from its peers will return to DraftKings and FanDuel once the ESPN Bet promotional well runs dry. However, if ESPN Bet is bringing in new customers, those customers could be far more loyal (it was reported that 60% of Sky Bet customers in the UK are exclusive to the brand).
If, and this is a big if, ESPN Bet can partially replicate Sky Bet’s loyalty numbers, that will give it a huge leg up.
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Looking Ahead to 2024: Online Sports Betting Candidate List
There are 21 states that haven’t yet legalized mobile sports betting. Of those states, 12 are non-sports betting states, and nine have only legalized retail-only betting (seen in the table below).
As I’ve mentioned before, 2024 is shaping up to be the first year that sports betting gets shutout since the fall of PASPA in 2018, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be a legislative push in many of these states.
As such, I’ve divided the remaining into three tiers and ranked them from 1-21:
Current Candidates (bills expected in 2024)
Future Candidates (bills unlikely in 2024)
Longshot Candidates (maybe, someday)
And just so we understand each other, the number one slot on this list, Georgia, is an underdog to legalize mobile sports betting in 2024. The truth is, there are no great 2024 mobile betting candidates.
If any of the above states pass legislation, it will be somewhere between surprising and shocking news.
Quick Hitter: Former Jags Employee Pleads Guilty to Embezzling $22M
Amit Patel, the former Jacksonville Jaguars employee who embezzled more than $22 million from the team’s Virtual Credit Card program to fuel a gambling addiction (per Patel’s lawyer, 99% of the stolen funds were used to fund his gambling), has reached a plea agreement that could result in up to 30 years in prison and fines of up to $500,000.
Per the plea agreement, Patel will enter a guilty plea to two charges: wire fraud and engaging in an illegal monetary transaction.
As part of the deal, “Patel has agreed to forfeit $22,221,454.40, the proceeds of the wire fraud, as well as a condominium in Ponte Vedra Beach, a 2021 Telsa Model 3 sedan, and a Patek Philippe Nautilus watch that he purchased or funded with the proceeds,” The DOJ press release notes.
Patel will also have to make full restitution to the team, which, at $22 million, will likely be an impossible mission.
I discussed the case in my feature column last Friday, focusing on the industry’s role in not preventing Patel’s gambling spree.
Around the Watercooler
Social media conversations, rumors, and gossip.
How we should engage kids about gambling is an unresolved question. But as Jamie Salsburg explains, there are certain things we know won’t work (b and c below).
The portion I highlighted isn’t groundbreaking advice.
“One of these days in your travels, a guy is going to show you a brand-new deck of cards on which the seal is not yet broken. Then this guy is going to offer to bet you that he can make the jack of spades jump out of this brand-new deck of cards and squirt cider in your ear. But, son, do not accept this bet, because as sure as you stand there, you’re going to wind up with an ear full of cider.” ~ Sky Masterson, Guys and Dolls
Stray Thoughts
Archilochus put it best, “We do not rise to the level of our expectations; we fall to the level of our training.” It’s a quote I’ve probably used before and will likely use again. However, it’s not a perfect quote. In truth, we fall well below our training. Stress will do that to you.
This is something I hammer home whenever I discuss martial arts training; there’s a world of difference between a controlled environment and the unpredictable outside world.
You may be able to do a prearranged drill with a partner who you know has no intention to hurt you. Move the scenario outside with an unknown person and I guarantee you will not do what you think you will do.
Even a heavily pressure-tested art like Brazilian Jiu Jitsu doesn’t prepare you for the initial stress response or the eventual adrenaline dump. There’s a big difference between rolling with someone on a mat that you know will respect your tap and some random on the street who has threatened to kill you.
This is something you can use in any aspect of your life. Ask yourself what is lacking when you examine x, y, or z in a controlled environment. Yes, in a perfect world, x, y, and z perform exactly as tested, but we don’t live in a perfect world, and people are not NPCs. They will make decisions you cannot anticipate or plan for.