Sports betting vs. Daily Fantasy - Aren’t they both just gambling?

Much has been made of Daily Fantasy Sports sites in recent weeks, most recently highlighted by the New York Attorney General announcing that sites such as FanDuel and DraftKings are illegal based on state gambling laws.

Sports betting has been a long-standing activity - while most states deem it illegal, a few - namely Nevada - allow it. There is little contention that sports betting constitutes gambling - you bet against the odds and hope you get lucky. There’s a lot more controversy around FanDuel and DraftKings - the argument is that it should not fall under gambling laws because it is a skill based game, not chance.

Which is it then?

Unfortunately, in the United States, whether it’s skill or chance doesn’t matter much. Poker, with high stakes tournaments, is claimed by many to be a game of skill - many of the top players regularly out-play their competition. However, chance is certainly involved. Online poker, once incredibly popular, has been pushed out by regulation.

We’ve laid out a comparison below - Daily Fantasy Sports sites have exploded in popularity and might even be taking market share away from typical sports betting outlets. At the end of the day, both sports betting and daily fantasy are just trying to beat the odds.