Major daily fantasy sports operators suspend U.S. college sport activity

Daily fantasy sports market leaders DraftKings and Fanduel have agreed to suspend all competitions involving National Collegiate Athletic Association events following negotiations with the sports body, according to an ESPN report late Thursday.

The business effect is unlikely to be too damaging; ESPN points out that college sports, both football and basketball, represent only 3 percent of FanDuel’s revenue, and probably not much more at DraftKings, where the NFL daily fantasy market is up to 20 times larger than the college football business.

The suspension was confirmed by a statement from Fanduel which advised:

“As a part of a new agreement with the NCAA, we have decided to voluntarily and indefinitely suspend college sports contests in all states upon the conclusion of this week’s college basketball games.

“As a leader in calling for smart, common sense regulations for the fantasy sports industry, FanDuel has had months of productive conversations with the NCAA, their member institutions, and various state legislators to better understand their concerns around fantasy sports contests based on amateur athletics.

“It is clear that this is an issue that matters to a variety of constituencies and we feel that the best path forward is to suspend offering these contests pending resolution on the issue within state legislatures.”

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