Daily Fantasy Sports are legal but it depends on where you are located, what DFS platform you are using, and how old you are. Before we get into the issues that prevent DFS from being legal, let’s specify what the restrictions are in states where it is illegal. If you are physically located in a state or country where DFS is illegal, you will not be able to deposit or enter paid contests on the DFS platform. If you are physically located in a state that is eligible to deposit and play paid contests, you will be able to play and deposit with no issues even if you registered or reside in a state that is not eligible. Free contests on DFS platforms can be played anywhere because the user is not risking money.
Why Daily Fantasy Sports is illegal in certain places
The common issue with Daily Fantasy Sports being legalized or not is dependent on whether an individual state views it as gambling or not. Most of the states in the U.S. view Daily Fantasy Sports as “a game of skill” which means it is not gambling, therefore it is legal. However, there are states like Arizona that view DFS as gambling so therefore it is illegal because the state has not legalized gambling.
There is also an unusual situation where a state like Nevada has legalized gambling but requires DFS operators to get a gambling license to operate in the state which has stalled the ability for a DFS platform to operate in Nevada. In addition to that, most of the countries around the world have not made it legal to play DFS. The United States and Canada are the only countries that have legalized DFS across all platforms.
The other main factor involved in legality issues tied to DFS is a person’s age. The rules for DFS are different for every state in the USA. There are some states that have the age limit be 18+ and there are some states that require the user to be 21+. Like the states, each DFS platform varies when it comes to legal restrictions.
DraftKings Legal Restrictions
At DraftKings, there are only six states where you cannot play in paid contests or deposit. Those states are Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Washington, and Hawaii. DraftKings is also the only DFS platform that can operate in countries outside of the United States and Canada. Users located in the United Kingdom, Germany, Malta, Ireland, and Austria can all play on DFS on DraftKings.
As far as age is concerned you must be at least 18 years old to play anywhere except you have to be at least 19 in Nebraska or Alabama and at least 21 years old in Iowa, Louisiana, and Massachusetts.
FanDuel Legal Restrictions
FanDuel is currently restricted in seven states for Daily Fantasy Sports. You cannot deposit or play in paid contests in Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada, and Washington. They are expected to be legal in Lousiana in late 2021 or 2022. FanDuel is still only legal in the United States and Canada.
The age requirements are also very similar to DraftKings as you have to be at least 21 years old to play in Massachusetts and Iowa while you have to be at least 19 in Alabama.
Monkey Knife Fight Legal Restrictions
Monkey Knife Fight and SuperDraft are more restricted when it comes to state legality. Monkey Knife Fight is currently restricted in 14 states. These states are Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Washington.
For age requirements, you will have to be at least 18 years old everywhere except you have to be at least 19 in Nebraska or Alabama and at least 21 years old in Massachusetts.
SuperDraft Legal Restrictions
SuperDraft is currently restricted in 15 states. These states are Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, Pennslyvania, Tennessee, and Washington. When it comes to state legality issues for DFS platforms, each site needs to get approved individually state by state. This lengthy process on top of high operating fees is why SuperDraft and Monkey Knife Fight are not legally approved in some states that DraftKings and FanDuel are.
As far as the age requirements are concerned, you must be at least 18 years old everywhere besides Alabama where you have to be 19, and Massachusetts, Mississippi, and Iowa where you have to be 21.
Conclusion
The question we wanted to answer here in this article is “Are Daily Fantasy Sports Legal?”. The legality of Daily Fantasy Sports is a complicated subject because of how different it is from state to state and DFS site to DFS site. Ultimately, it is legal in most states for most of the Daily Fantasy Sports platforms. If you have further questions about state legality on SuperDraft, please contact our support team.
FAQs
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Daily fantasy sports are legit. It’s a great way to add an additional stream of income. By watching your favorite teams and doing the inherent breakdowns that you, as a fan, do anyway, you can draft a lineup and win some serious cash!
Daily fantasy sports are not considered gambling and that is why DFS is legal in so many more states. Daily fantasy sports involves a fair amount of skill, high knowledge of the team, and analytical breakdowns, whereas gambling includes a heavy dose of “gut feelings” and “hunches”.
