Federal investigations into the daily fantasy sports industry are open in three jurisdictions and may be exploring a variety of criminal questions, per comments made Thursday by an attorney representing unnamed DraftKings employees.

The comments were made by Boston-based white-collar criminal defense attorney Paul Kelly during a public forum held at the University of New Hampshire School of Law where reporters were in attendance and audio recording was permitted. Near the start of his comments, Kelly said he represents “certain individuals, managers, from DraftKings.”

A transcript of the speech is available below. DraftKings, FanDuel, and Mr. Kelly all provided statements to LSR contesting the accuracy of Kelly’s remarks as presented. Per Kelly’s comments:

• U.S. Attorney offices in the Southern District of New York, Boston, and Tampa, Fla. have all “launched grand jury investigations” into the activities of DraftKings and FanDuel.
• The investigations are still in their “earliest stages,” according to Kelly. “One thing I know is that action on the criminal side is not going to happen next week, next month, or perhaps even in the calendar year of 2016 — if ever,” Kelly said.
• It is far from a certainty that charges will be brought, argued Kelly, who noted: “If the Justice Department elects to go forward, and that’s still a pretty big if, because, frankly, I have not seen anything factually which would provide a legitimate basis for criminal charges at this point.”

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