Earlier this week, New York State Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman, ordered companies Draft Kings & Fan Duel to cease operations in the state. He wants to ban fantasy games in New York and he made the order go into effect immediately, essentially shutting down both of the huge daily fantasy sports leagues. It didn’t take long for them to fire back, as they filed a lawsuit to prevent the ban and asking the court for help.
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The two companies asked the court to provide it with the means to conduct their business in the state as the legal battle proceeds.
In its petition, DraftKings called Schneiderman’s order to cease taking business from customers in New York a “shocking overreach.”
“He has unleashed an irresponsible, irrational and illegal campaign to destroy a legitimate industry,” the filing said.
Lawyers for both DraftKings and FanDuel spent most of their case arguing over Schneiderman’s assertion that daily fantasy was a game of chance and therefore illegal.
Schneiderman issued a statement saying his next step will be to convince the court to enforce his wish for the companies to stop taking business from fans in New York.
“The Attorney General’s job is to enforce New York State law, and the law here is clear. Online sports gambling sites are illegal in New York,” Schneiderman’s statement said. “DraftKings and FanDuel are operating illegal sports betting websites under New York law, causing the same kinds of social and economic harms as other forms of illegal gambling.
