Gov. Charlie Baker plays DraftKings on his phone, says it’s not gambling
“It’s a game of skill.’’
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said DraftKings is “a game of skill’’ not long after he played the free version of DraftKings on his phone over the weekend.
“I don’t think it’s gambling,’’ he said on Thursday, according to Boston Herald’s Matt Stout. “It’s a game of skill.’’
The statement gibes with what Baker said about the controversial daily fantasy sports businesses, including DraftKings and FanDuel, earlier on Thursday.
“I’m convinced it’s legal in Massachusetts,’’ he said on WGBH radio.
Baker has also previously lauded the founders of DraftKings for starting the business.
“Bravo to the kids who decided to take this thing and turn it into something big. That’s very entrepreneurial,’’ he said in October.
Baker’s opinion on DraftKings slightly differs from that of Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey. She said definitively on Wednesday that daily fantasy was a form of gambling, though she said she does not believe they violate Massachusetts law.
“I think that people looking at this acknowledge it’s a form of gambling. The question, though, is whether or not that’s actionable under the law and do we have in place the right kind of legal and regulatory framework to address that,’’Healey said, according to MassLive.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission recently wrote in a legal memo that a paid contest is considered an illegal lottery if it involves more chance than skill.
On Tuesday, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman declared DraftKings and FanDuel to be gambling and ordered them to stop taking bets in New York state.
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