AG Healey says DraftKings asked to be reviewed
DraftKings has inundated Boston’s airwaves from their perch in Post Office Square, but the attention its getting seemed to have worked against them after Attorney General Maura Healey said she was reviewing the fantasy sports industry.
Though Healey has previously called for gambling regulations in Massachusetts, it turns out she didn’t initiate the look into DraftKings.
“DraftKings actually came to our office and wanted to reach out and talk to us about a new industry, so we heard them out,’’ Healey said Monday, according to the State House News Service. “We’re hearing them out on it, and as I said, we’re just looking to learn more.’’
On Monday, the Washington Post looked into the online fantasy sports industry, asking “Are daily fantasy sports even legal?’’ DraftKings came into question—they’ve aired more television ads over the past month than any other brand—but the Post spoke with the editor of LegalSportsReport.com, Chris Grove, after U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) called for a hearing on the fantasy sports industry’s legality.
Grove explained that there are a few answers to that question. First, he said, the “cultural’’ answer if that if you ask someone on the street, they’d say fantasy sports are a form of gambling.
“The next question is whether this is a gambling product is under federal law,’’ he told the Post. “Federal law does not really wade into the waters of defining what gambling is, by and large. That leaves that question up to the states, and that’s where you get to very difficult questions of how you measure the distribution of skill and chance in an activity.’’
According to the News Service, Healey said there is currently no time frame for her review of DraftKings.
DraftKings did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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