Fantasy Sports and Online Gambling

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Fantasy Sports and Online Gambling

Fantasy Sports and Online Gambling

July 15, 2015

I spent the July 4th holiday like many people… with friends, grilling out by the pool. While catching up with my college roommate, he was quick to inform me about how much money he spent gambling last month…

The amount of money lost wasn’t the shocking part…  the shocking part was the median in which he spent it…

Gambling comes in many forms.

If someone choses to gamble, they can go to their local convenience store and buy lottery tickets. They can also go to the dog or horse track, many of which feature a poker room to boot. And we must not forget about casinos, which are synonymous with the term gambling.

However, there is a gambling frontier that is quickly developing…

Ever hear of DraftKings or FanDuel? My college roommate definitely has…

If you haven’t, you will soon.  In fact, online fantasy sports companies will spend millions of dollars this year promoting their fantasy sports websites. Thanks to sites like DraftKings and FanDuel, any adult can register and wager money on fantasy sports.

Major sports teams and Fortune 500 companies alike are all finding ways to get into the business of fantasy sports. For our purpose, we will focus on two businesses, DraftKings and FanDuel, which are the biggest players in the online fantasy sports arena.

Daily fantasy sports is a huge business…

How huge may you ask?

Fantasy sports is a multi-BILLION dollar business!

This year over 57 millions Americans will participate in fantasy sports in some way. Many of these leagues are for money. FanDuel, launched in 2009, says it pays out $10 million in weekly cash prizes. DraftKings’ revenue grew more than seven times between 2013 and 2014 and the company plans to pay out more than $1 billion in prize money in 2015.

And while fantasy sports isn’t legally considered gambling (yet) under federal law, one just needs a degree in common sense to realize that betting on fantasy sports is in fact, gambling.

And while drafting the perfect fantasy football team this fall may be just good fun, there will be countless people sucked into the terrible world of a gambling addiction.  Like with all things, it is important to set limits on the time, money, and resources you dedicate to gambling.

If you wish to learn more about online gaming and the risks associated, please visit our page and scroll down to our monthly newsletter. And if you were wondering about my college roommate and how he is doing after last month’s massive fantasy sports blunder, let’s just say I gave him our hotline number, 888-ADMIT-IT.

 

Always here to help,

 

The FCCG

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