Daily Fantasy, Daily Life: Volume XI - Skill or Luck?
Remember the dark old days of daily fantasy sports in 2015, in the wake of the Ethan Haskell not-scandal, where legislators and judges and no-fun-niks were busy clutching their pearls about the legality of DFS?
It’s not worth rehashing here, but for those of you who weren’t in the DFS streets back then, it was a scary time, as daily fantasy sports – which had been flying under the radar – became front page news in the New York Times and Washington Post. It really looked like our little thing was going to go the way of online poker. The sky was falling.
What saved it? Strong lobbying efforts, for one. Plus a bunch of state legislators who got it, who recognized that despite squirming in through a legal loophole in the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act, daily fantasy sports was not quite gambling and …
All right. Let’s stop there for a moment. Daily fantasy sports is gambling. Let’s not fool ourselves. Any time I’m putting money out there in hopes of winning more money, that’s gambling. To be clear: Investing in the stock market is gambling. So is buying real estate. Or orange juice futures.
So there’s no shame in recognizing that entering the $4 Four Point Play on DraftKings is, by any definition, gambling.
So it’s gambling. We can leave it there. But FanDuel and DraftKings and their lobbying arms and the legislators who “got it” also recognized something else about DFS: There is an element of skill involved, and that’s what helped soothe the minds of many a state legislature. Sure, it was gambling, but it was legal enough under federal law and it was a game of at least some skill.
You would think the matter would have been settled by now.
Except it’s not. In fact, as we speak, New York’s highest court is still arguing as to whether daily fantasy sports should be legal in the Empire State, this despite the fact sports betting is now legal and legislators are starting to foam at the mouth about bringing online casinos to the masses.
Last month, the second round of arguments was held at the state’s Court of Appeals concerning DFS, and whether it’s a game of skill or chance. Why a second round? Well, according to a Law360.com article, it’s probably because the judges were split as to the legality after the first round of arguments last October.
Back in 2016, New York became one of the states where the legislature OK’d DFS, but the pearl-clutchers have yet to let go, resulting in this case reaching the Court of Appeals.
The shame of all this, really, is that if we are being fully honest, we would recognize that DFS is gambling – for sure – and that it’s a game of skill … and luck.
Yes. Luck.
I mean, I consider myself a DFS expert in the NFL. I really do. I spend so much time each week breaking down the slate, and after eight years of DFS play – and over 30 years of fantasy play – I know what I’m doing. And I have the bankroll to prove it.
It’s skill. Clearly.
On the flip side, I have never – not once – watched a NASCAR race. I don’t know anything about the sport. If five NASCAR drivers rang my doorbell, I would just assume my wife hired some contractors to re-do the bathroom or something. But every once in a while, I’ll enter a NASCAR tourney for the hell of it, literally just mashing buttons for a $4 sweat, and sometimes I’ll cash.
That’s luck.
And then there’s the wide gray area in-between. I mean, I can tell you to play Mike Trout when he’s facing a lousy lefty at Fenway on a 100 degree day with the wind blowing out, and he can hit four of the hardest hit balls in Major League history, and … they can all be hit directly to the left fielder, resulting in a 0-for-4 afternoon. Skill. And luck.
Honestly, outside of poker, there’s not another game out there that combines the two so well, although – as dedicated players of both can tell you – skill wins out.
I guess I just hope the judges, in this case, read RotoGrinders. To turn back the clock and ban daily fantasy sports now would be insane. That’s all I’m really trying to say here.
Player Image Credit: Imagn