Twistity Sports Exclusive: Dear Mr. Fantasy

My first venture in fantasy sports came in the late 1980s. It was new and fun.

We had an office party just before the NFL season started, we drafted our teams and we submitted lineups each week. We made our own rules, kept our own stats, reveled in our wins and losses.

We kept scores with a pencil and paper. No computer, no spreadsheet. No money changed hands. It was just fun and it was a side activity the NFL opposed (mostly because it couldn’t figure out how to make money off it).

Now it’s big business. Record-keeping takes place on line, buy-ins and payouts can be extremely large, it’s daily and not weekly and professional sports leagues are partners with the biggest service providers.

Only problem? It’s gambling. And illegal. So said the attorneys-general in Nevada, and New York, and now Illinois’ has weighed in as well. The law “clearly declares that all games of chance or skill, when played for money, are illegal gambling in Illinois,” AG Lisa Madigan said on Wednesday.

DraftKings and FanDuel are the industry biggies, and they are fighting these rulings. It will be an interesting battle. Nevada declared daily fantasy play for money illegal gambling and won’t let sites operate without gambling licenses; New York is seeking an injunction to ban DraftKings and FanDuel from allowing state residents to participate in contests for money. An appeals hearing is scheduled for Jan. 4 in New York City to decide if FanDuel and DraftKings will be allowed to continue to operate while the legal case meanders through court.

Fantasy football used to be fun. I haven’t played in years. Too serious. Too cut-throat. Too intense. And it defies the old gamblers’ rule: Never bet on anything with two legs.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman