DFS firms to pay USD 6M each for false advertising violations

DraftKings, Fanduel agree settlement with NY attorney general

The New York state attorney general inked a USD 12M settlement Tuesday with daily fantasy sports websites DraftKings and Fanduel.
2016-10-26
Reading time 1:10 min
The New York state attorney general inked a USD 12M settlement Tuesday with daily fantasy sports websites DraftKings and Fanduel.

The two companies will pay $6 million each for false advertising violations, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in announcing the settlement with the two web sites, which he has been targeting for the past year. They have also agreed to change their marketing practices and inform consumers about expected winnings and rates of success.

This settlement makes it clear that no company has a right to deceive New Yorkers for its own profit, Schneiderman said

The deal resolves lawsuits filed by the AG in 2015 over alleged deceptive promotions. A state probe had found that the companies misled novice players about their odds compared to their professional counterparts and gave false statistics about the difficulty of winning cash prizes.

The settlement comes after the state legalized daily fantasy sports contests in August. Once valued at over $1 billion each, the sites are now struggling to pay their bills amidst numerous state regulatory investigations and questions about their legality.

A spokeswoman for DraftKings said, ““We are pleased to move forward and as our business continues to grow, we are focused on ensuring that millions of passionate sports fans across the country are able to continue engaging in an innovative way with the sports and athletes they love.”

A rep for FanDuel said: “As previously stated, the negotiations were tough but fair, but we are very pleased to have reached a resolution as this allows us to focus on our busiest time of year with NFL, NHL and soccer in full swing, and NBA season starting tonight. We look forward to providing sports fans, especially our New York users, the contests they love.”

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