Alabama declares daily fantasy sports games to be illegal

Alabama has teamed up with other US states to illegalize DFS games. DFS games operators are fighting a fierce battle since this gambling activity does not seem to fit in any legal category. The latest of the US states to join this anti DFS campaign, Alabama, announced last Tuesday that DFS companies must cease their operations. Alabama Attorney General, Luther Strange, has sent out several letters to both main operators, DraftKings and FanDuel. The letters request the operators to cease and desist these gambling activities in the state of Alabama, establishing May 1 as the final date when operators must halt any real-money transaction.

Alabama Attorney General, Luther Strange, has stated that these operations “are in fact illegal gambling under Alabama law… As Attorney General, it is my duty to uphold Alabama law, including the laws against illegal gambling. DFS operators claim that they operate legally under Alabama law; however, paid DFS contests are in fact illegal gambling under Alabama law.”

Both, DraftKings and FanDuel, are still operating in the state of Alabama and have not made any comments about Alabama Attorney General’s announcement; however, both DFS operators have started the exit process and soon will be leaving Alabama’s market.

Alabama Attorney General’s statement comes after similar pronouncements from other Attorneys in New York, Texas, Vermont, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, and Mississippi. However, some other states, such as Nevada continue supporting daily fantasy sports activities although they encourage operators to obtain gambling licenses.

So far, 12 US states have ruled against Daily Fantasy Sports operations while many others have not decided yet about the fate of Daily Fantasy Sports operators.