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,…

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…

I enjoy both online poker and daily fantasy sports. Neither is perfect – there are certainly issues with each that I would like fixed (hey sites: call me, my consulting rates are competitive) – but both pastimes are a lot of fun and should be legalized and regulated across the United States. And they both constitute gambling. Thus, it vexes me that DFS, despite being the much less mature industry, has been gaining acceptance from lawmakers at an astronomically faster rate than online poker. Case in point: over the weekend, the New York legislature passed a bill that legalizes and…

A key senator in New York said that a daily fantasy sports bill trails online poker legislation in its chances of becoming law before a looming deadline. Sen. John Bonacic, the chair of the Racing, Gaming, and Wagering committee, did an interview with Time Warner Cable News on Monday. In it, he spoke at length about two different gaming bills in front of the legislature. When asked whether a bill regulating online poker or a bill regulating DFS — both authored by him — had a better shot at becoming law, he said “online poker” without hesitation. You can see…

On Thursday morning, the New York Senate Finance Committee quickly passed Senator John Bonacic’s online poker legalization bill, S5302. The bill will now head to the Senate floor for future consideration. Momentum of any kind is certainly welcome. But based on the comments of a key figure in the New York Assembly, as well as the lack of public hearings on the topic, online poker legalization in the Empire State appears to be a long shot. In a column at LegalSportsReport.com, Dustin Gouker reported Assemblyman Gary Pretlow was “pessimistic” when it comes to online poker this session. And Pretlow would…

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…