Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced stricter rules regarding the Daily Fantasy Sports industry on Friday, according to the updated regulations.
Initially proposed in November 2015, Healey sought “to ensure that players are protected and that minors can’t access the sites” in her regulations, according to a Nov. 19 release. Minors, as defined in the updated regulations, are individuals under 21 years of age.
The regulations also limit the number of accounts an individual may open to one per person, exclude college athletics representation on the platforms and restrict advertisements targeting minors, according to the regulations.
Daily Fantasy Sports outlets FanDuel and Boston-based DraftKings individually released statements regarding the soon-to-be-implemented regulations, and both agree to be in compliance.
“DraftKings has already voluntarily implemented many of the consumer protections contained in the final regulations, including prohibiting DraftKings’ employees from playing in public contests for money and allowing players to put self-imposed deposit limits on their individual accounts,” the release stated. “The company will continue to work diligently to ensure it is in compliance with the full set of regulations as soon as possible.”
Though the company agreed to comply, FanDuel raised concerns surrounding the new regulations.
“Although we share the goal of protecting consumers, we have concerns the regulations, in some instances, will restrict the ability to introduce new pro-consumer innovations,” the release stated. “Nevertheless, we will work diligently to ensure we are in full compliance, and hope to see the regulations evolve over time to continue to allow further innovation.”
FanDuel acknowledged that Healey took a “thoughtful approach from the beginning” and explained that the corporation “fully support[s] sensible regulations to protect consumers and ensure sports fans nationwide can continue playing the games they love.”
FanDuel’s disagreement with the proposed regulations was not alone. Stephen Crosby, chairman of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, wrote to Healey in January to highlight potential issues with the proposal.
In a letter, Crosby stated that defining minors as under 21 was excessive.
“Casino gameplay is limited by statute to people 21 years of age or older, in substantial part because of the wide availability of alcohol in the gaming area,” he wrote in the letter. “Obviously, that constraint does not apply in the DFS environment. For what it is worth, I have a hard time understanding the logic of considering people old enough to join the military, to vote, to get married and to live alone and yet consider them insufficiently responsible to play Daily Fantasy Sports.”
He then stated that 18 is a more appropriate age to engage as a consumer in the DFS industry.
Boston University College of Communication Professor Fred Bayles explained that the three-year age difference waxes and wanes with “a number of vices.”
“The thought was, if you’re old enough to serve for your country and die, then you should be able to vote, drink, smoke, all that,” he said. “But I think 21 is certainly within the realm of regulation of other vices.”
Bayles also explained that Healey’s new regulations are not out of the ordinary, but fall in line with other states across the country.
“New York, and a number of other states as well, are adjusting to this phenomenon which hit really big in the beginning of the last NFL season,” he said. “She’s not banning it outright, she’s just putting some controls in place. There is money changing hands, and particularly the idea of what age you should start allowing people to do this is an important consideration.”
Savannah Armstrong, 28, of Brighton, said she thinks that gambling should be more structured because of the negative tendencies the behavior often leads to.
“I think betting like that should be regulated, especially with younger kids getting involved, because it leads to bad habits down the line,” she said.
James Conway, 27, of Back Bay, said websites like FanDuel and Draft Kings should be treated like all other betting entities.
“I mean, those websites are gambling sites, so it’s logical that it’s regulated as most gambling is regulated,” he said.
Jimmy Morgan, 28, of Brighton, said he enjoys the online platform, but agrees with those who want to protect others from potentially harmful habits.
“Draft Kings is fun, but I think it’s more important to put things in place to protect the larger majority,” he said. “I mean, it’s a fact that gambling is addictive.”
