The country’s two leading online daily fantasy sports companies are paying out big — in fines to the state. FanDuel and DraftKings on Tuesday agreed to pay $6 million each to settle lawsuits from Attorney General Eric Schneiderman alleging they engaged in false and deceptive advertising practices. Schneiderman had charged that the companies misled casual and novice players about their chances of winning and the significant advantages professional players have while failing to disclose the dangers of gambling addiction. The companies also agreed to revamp their marketing, including better disclosure of expected winnings and performance. Because of recent financial struggles,…

The future of daily fantasy sports (DFS) has been secured in Massachusetts after regulations were signed into law by the US state’s governor. The new rules include a minimum age of 21 for participants, bar games based on college or amateur sports and prohibit individual players from spending more than $1,000 each month without proof they could withstand deep financial losses. The regulations, which were put forward by Attorney General Maura Healey earlier this year, also require DFS operators to offer ‘beginner’ contests that highly experienced players would be prevented from entering. After signing a bill including the DFS provisions,…

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation Wednesday formally legalizing daily fantasy sports in the Empire State and handing the embattled industry its biggest victory to date. Fantasy operators that were active in New York before Nov. 10, 2015 must receive a temporary permit from the New York Gaming Commission before reopening for business. The process isn’t expected to take long, and FanDuel and DraftKings, the two leading daily fantasy operators, expect to be up and running in New York before the NFL season kicks off in early September, if not sooner. “Daily fantasy sports have proven to be popular…

DraftKings CEO Jason Robins said that a possible merger between his company and FanDuel is a “very interesting idea” that could add value for shareholders and provide customers with a better service at a better cost. But he declined to rate the chances of it happening after recent reports of merger discussions between the two daily fantasy sports rivals. “I don’t really have much more insight into how likely or not likely that would be,” Robins told USA TODAY Sports Saturday. “I certainly haven’t changed my view on how interesting it is.” United as one or not, Robins still said he sees…

DraftKings cited horse racing and spelling bees as it appealed the preliminary injunction imposed against daily fantasy sports (DFS) operators in New York. The court that sided with state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman in his battle to ban DFS operators “abused its discretion” and committed several errors of law when it imposed the injunction in December, DraftKings argued in an appeal filed this week. The company claims that a preliminary injunction banning ban DraftKings and FanDuel in New York should be thrown out because Schneiderman “did not come close to carrying the burden” of proving that the law is on…

DraftKings announced that it has received a gaming license to operate in the United Kingdom, the first major U.S.-based daily fantasy sports site that will operate in a regulated market in Europe. DraftKings announced that it had received the license in a press release on Monday morning. In the release, DraftKings relayed that it had received the U.K. license, which it applied for in June. The license can be viewed here; DraftKings is now licensed for “Gambling Software” and “Pool Betting,” according to the license. The domain DraftKings.co.uk is now active, with the message “DraftKings is launching in your country…