NFL criticised on DFS activity

The US National Football League’s involvement in daily fantasy sports came under fire this week from the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood and the National Council on Problem Gaming, which claimed that NFL Rush Fantasy (which allows young players to build fantasy teams for prizes) “has the trappings of DFS – including frequent contests requiring constant attention to lineups and the incentive of valuable prizes.”

In a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, the groups slammed the free-to-enter contests, characterising them as springboards for addiction to real money daily fantasy competitions.

“Encouraging such activity in the classroom gives the imprimatur of the school in the eyes of impressionable young minds,” the letter claims, observing that safeguards are inadequate. “Educators should not be called upon to assist the NFL in promoting an activity which is potentially harmful and addictive when engaged in by children.

“Registrants are asked to provide the email address of a parent, so the NFL can verify age and permission for the child to play. But a child can easily provide some other email address, so that they or a friend can send the purported permission, thereby circumventing the parental approval,” reads the letter.

The NFL has yet to respond.

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