New York AG gets nasty with daily fantasy firms

If the New York Attorney General’s court action against daily fantasy firms FanDuel and DraftKings goes his way it could prove an expensive loss for the two companies.

AG Eric Schneiderman upped the ante this week by filing amendments to his charges which additionally ask the courts to order the DFS companies to refund all monies accepted as deposits from New York players, along with stiff penalties.

The amendments, filed on the last day of the year, were covered extensively by US mainstream media and seek a court order forcing the companies to “disgorge” and refund monies “obtained from consumers in connection with the fraudulent, deceptive and illegal acts” the AG alleges FanDuel and DraftKings have committed.

The filing also requests that the court imposes an additional punitive penalty of $5,000 in respect of each transgression of New York law that the courts find against the DFS firms.

Our readers will recall that on December 11 state Supreme Court Justice Manuel Mendez granted the AG an injunction halting all daily fantasy sports operations until the legality question was settled by a judicial finding.

The DFS companies urgently applied for the injunction to be suspended, arguing that if they were forced to shut down even temporarily, they would be irreparably harmed.

Associate Justice Paul G. Feinman of the Appellate Division of the State Supreme Court ordered a suspension of the Mendez injunction until January 4, when a panel of appeal judges will again consider the matter.

Commenting on the AG’s new additions to the court action, DFS legal representative David Boies, said in a statement:

“The attorney general’s revised complaint reveals that the attorney general’s office still does not understand fantasy sports…it is based on the fundamental misunderstanding of fantasy sports competitions.”

The New York Times observed that if the Mendez injunction is upheld, DraftKings and FanDuel will lose a combined $35 million to $40 million in revenue, according to the gaming industry firm Eilers Research.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/02/sports/revised-complaint-seeks-return-of-money-bet-on-fantasy-sports.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0