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In his latest column, Senior Editor Jacob Sullum wonders why it is perfectly legal to play fantasy sports but mostly illegal to bet on the real thing.
New at Reason: Jacob Sullum on Fantasy Sports and Gambling
Comments to "New at Reason: Jacob Sullum on Fantasy Sports and Gambling":
Fluffy | June 4, 2008, 8:31am | #
Of course the leagues wink at legal [and illegal] gambling on sports.Why do you think the NFL requires its teams to submit injury reports? It's for the convenience of bettors.
[I have been convinced for some time that the real reason the NFL came down so hard on Bill Belichick over the videotaping scandal is that they have long nursed a grudge over his disdain for the injury report system and his deliberate false injury filings. Messing with bettors messes with the league's hard core customer base.]
Chad Williams | June 4, 2008, 9:22am | #
This was interesting:http://bannedindc.wordpress.com/2008/06/04/shadowplay/
FrBunny | June 4, 2008, 9:23am | #
"...a specific exemption for fantasy sports, provided ... the imaginary teams do not correspond to any real teams."What if, for my fantasy team, I draft every player from the same, actual team? Poor strategy for sure, but does that mean they can lock me up? Or my league admin? Or the hosting site?
Have Penn & Teller done an episode on gambling laws? If so I'd like to be on DVR alert.
Fluffy | June 4, 2008, 9:32am | #
What if, for my fantasy team, I draft every player from the same, actual team?I think you could say that as long as it isn't the team's performance that determines the outcome, but some mathematical formula based on individual player performance, that you're still not betting on the team. So if you have every Cincinnati Red, but you win or lose based on player performance and not based on whether the Reds win or lose, you're OK.
What's funny is that the traditional illegal "numbers" game could in theory be made legal because of this exemption in the law. The daily "number" used to be a function of a stock market quote number published in the newspaper. You could probably come up with a way to generate a "number" based on fantasy sports performance, and pay out to "league participants" who had chosen to start players whose uniform numbers parse out to that number. Voila - instant lottery.
robc | June 4, 2008, 10:04am | #
The fantasy sports == sports betting analogy doesnt work as well as the fantasy sports == Dungeons and Dragons analogy.Fantasy sports is a Role Playing Game. The fact that it is often done for money distinguishes it from D&D (I dont know of any pay D&D "leagues").
During my fantasy (I prefer the term "rotisserie", but it only applies to baseball and to a subset of rules possibilities) baseball draft a few years back, one of the other owners made fun of RPGers (I forget the context of the conversation). I pointed out the irony, he was a little ticked. Somehow, it was different.
R C Dean | June 4, 2008, 10:29am | #
why it is perfectly legal to play fantasy sports but mostly illegal to bet on the real thing.I suspect it might have something to do with the history of mob involvement and game fixing relating to bets on real games between real teams.
shrike | June 4, 2008, 9:31pm | #
The GOP war on internet gaming..... just another anti-freedom stance.And folks AX why I hate the GOP so much?
rick baldwin | June 7, 2008, 8:07pm | #
As the little German said,"veeerrry interesting".I am a dabbler in gambling of all sorts,mostly horses & casino games. I've learned & now you have confirmed how much betting means to the world of commerce. I also consider the Stock Market the biggest gamble in the world today.
