3 reasons more and more states are outlawing daily fantasy sports sites like FanDuel.

Eric March
11.11.15

If you've watched an NFL game this year, chances are you've seen at least one ad for either DraftKings or FanDuel.

Probably, you've seen more like 17 hojillion. Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images.

You probably know that they allow users to bet on fantasy sports — and maybe earn (or more likely, lose) a few bucks here and there. What you might not know is that these sites have come under increased legal scrutiny in the past few months.

Nevada banned the sites from operating in-state back in September. And just today, the attorney general of New York ordered both DraftKings and FanDuel to stop taking bets in that state while his office investigates the legality of each business.

What's the deal? Why is fantasy football — of all things — attracting the attention of the law? It basically boils down to three things.

1. An employee cheating scandal makes the whole thing look ... kinda shady.

Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images.

In theory, fantasy sports are a level playing field. You put in your money and choose your players and/or teams, and you're promised an equal shot at winning a monetary prize. It's a system that works ... as long as everyone has the same information.

Increasingly, that's looking like it might not be the case with DraftKings and FanDuel.

In September, an employee of DraftKings won $350,000 in a competition at competitor site FanDuel — the same week he accidentally released a bunch of insider data online — which made it seem like people who work for daily fantasy sports sites might be operating with more information than the average player. According to some reports, executives and employees of the two companies are some of the top bettors on their rivals' platforms.

Ultimately, the employee was cleared — internally — of wrongdoing. But it prompted the FBI to launch an investigation, which is ongoing.

2. Unlike most gambling, the daily fantasy sports industry is pretty much completely unregulated.

Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images.

Gambling is a heavily supervised industry in most states and on the Internet. A 2006 law prohibits most forms of betting online. Online fantasy sports are exempt from the law, however, as "games of skill" are not technically considered gambling under the law.

Why is fantasy football a game of skill? It's ... not entirely clear. Evaluating player and team statistics — and making judgments based on that analysis — certainly requires specific knowledge. You could probably say the same for more traditional gambling platforms like horse racing and poker. But it doesn't really matter. Under the law, right now, it's considered one.

Without the same government oversight that comes with running a traditional casino or other gambling operation, daily fantasy sports could be vulnerable to hacking, cheating, insider betting, and other such bad behavior that potentially makes the contests lopsided, unfair, and not-as-advertised.

Conventional gambling outfits certainly aren't always beacons of honesty and fairness even with oversight, but right now, daily fantasy sports are subject to none. And that's a problem.

3. Gambling is a big public health issue, which is rarely addressed.

Slot machines. Photo by Philippe Lopez/Getty Images.

To hear representatives from DraftKings and FanDuel tell it, daily fantasy sports are not gambling. Which — as today's New York Times report makes clear — is news to New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman, who launched the most recent investigation of the sites:

"The attorney general's office said daily fantasy sports 'appears to be creating the same public health and economic problems associated with gambling.'"

More casinos are closer to more Americans than ever before. Studies estimate 1.1-1.9% of the population — between 3.5 and 6 million people — suffers from some form of gambling addiction. And low-income Americans are particularly vulnerable, as their losses can be far more catastrophic. Many experts believe that, as a potential source of addiction, fantasy sports are indistinguishable from other forms of gambling. Now that they're available at the click of a button, the barrier to entry is suddenly extremely low, and the potential to lose hundreds or thousands of dollars is high.

Fantasy sports can be fun and harmless — but more oversight is a good thing.

For those who play — and even place the odd bet here and there — fantasy sports can be a rewarding hobby. Gambling a little bit of money with your friends or even random strangers on the Internet is fun! But betting through an easily hackable, unregulated system where employees might have access to information that you don't? Not to mention one that can be an emotionally and financially devastating if abused?

Seems like it might be a good idea to stay away until a few more rules are put in place.

Taking a look under the hood of the industry is long overdue. Hopefully, a thorough investigation can make the system fairer, more transparent, and, most importantly, work better for everyone.

fanduel draftkings daily fantasy sports fantasy sports online gambling gambling eric t. schneiderman
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Florida City forecloses on man's home after fining him $30,000 for not mowing his lawn.

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Should a man lose his home because the grass in his yard grew higher than 10 inches? The city of Dunedin, Florida seems to think so.

According to the Institute of Justice, which is representing Jim Ficken, he had a very good reason for not mowing his lawn – and tried to rectify the situation as best he could.

In 2014, Jim's mom became ill and he visited her often in South Carolina to help her out. When he was away, his grass grew too long and he was cited by a code office; he cut the grass and wasn't fined.

France has started forcing supermarkets to donate food instead of throwing it away.

But several years later, this one infraction would come back to haunt him after he left to take care of him's mom's affairs after she died. The arrangements he made to have his grass cut fell through (his friend who he asked to help him out passed away unexpectedly) and that set off a chain reaction that may result in him losing his home.

The 69-year-old retiree now faces a $29,833.50 fine plus interest. Watch the video to find out just what Jim is having to deal with.

Mow Your Lawn or Lose Your House! www.youtube.com

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Michelle Obama named 'most admired woman in the world,' because of course she is.

The world can't get enough Michelle.

Jimmy Kimmel Live/YouTube

The world officially loves Michelle Obama.

The former first lady has overtaken the number one spot in a poll of the world's most admired women. Conducted by online research firm YouGov, the study uses international polling tools to survey people in countries around the world about who they most admire.

In the men's category, Bill Gates took the top spot, followed by Barack Obama and Jackie Chan.

In the women's category, Michelle Obama came first, followed by Oprah Winfrey and Angelina Jolie. Obama pushed Jolie out of the number one spot she claimed last year.

Unsurprising, really, because what's not to love about Michelle Obama? She is smart, kind, funny, accomplished, a great dancer, a devoted wife and mother, and an all-around, genuinely good person.

She has remained dignified and strong in the face of rabid masses of so-called Americans who spent eight years and beyond insisting that she's a man disguised as a woman. She's endured non-stop racist memes and terrifying threats to her family. She has received far more than her fair share of cruelty, and always takes the high road. She's the one who coined, "When they go low, we go high," after all.

She came from humble beginnings and remains down to earth despite becoming a familiar face around the world. She's not much older than me, but I still want to be like Michelle Obama when I grow up.

Her memoir, Becoming, may end up being the best-selling memoir of all time, having already sold 10 million copies—a clear sign that people can't get enough Michelle, because there's no such thing as too much Michelle.

Don't like Michelle Obama? Don't care. Those of us who love her will fly our MO flags high and without apology, paying no mind to folks with cold, dead hearts who don't know a gem of a human being when they see one. There is nothing any hater can say or do to make us admire this undeniably admirable woman any less.

When it seems like the world has lost its mind—which is how it feels most days these days—I'm just going to keep coming back to this study as evidence that hope for humanity is not lost.

Here. Enjoy some real-life Michelle on Jimmy Kimmel. (GAH. WHY IS SHE SO CUTE AND AWESOME. I can't even handle it.)

Michelle & Barack Obama are Boring Now www.youtube.com

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France has started forcing supermarkets to donate food instead of throwing it away.

via EarthFix / Flickr

What will future generations never believe that we tolerated in 2019?

Dolphin and orca captivity, for sure. They'll probably shake their heads at how people died because they couldn't afford healthcare. And, they'll be completely mystified at the amount of food some people waste while others go starving.

According to Biological Diversity, "An estimated 40 percent of the food produced in the United States is wasted every year, costing households, businesses and farms about $218 billion annually."

There are so many things wrong with this.

First of all it's a waste of money for the households who throw out good food. Second, it's a waste of all of the resources that went into growing the food, including the animals who gave their lives for the meal. Third, there's something very wrong with throwing out food when one in eight Americans struggle with hunger.

Supermarkets are just as guilty of this unnecessary waste as consumers. About 10% of all food waste are supermarket products thrown out before they've reached their expiration date.

Three years ago, France took big steps to combat food waste by making a law that bans grocery stores from throwing away edible food.According to the new ordinance, stores can be fined for up to $4,500 for each infraction.

Previously, the French threw out 7.1 million tons of food. Sixty-seven percent of which was tossed by consumers, 15% by restaurants, and 11% by grocery stores.

This has created a network of over 5,000 charities that accept the food from supermarkets and donate them to charity. The law also struck down agreements between supermarkets and manufacturers that prohibited the stores from donating food to charities.

"There was one food manufacturer that was not authorized to donate the sandwiches it made for a particular supermarket brand. But now, we get 30,000 sandwiches a month from them — sandwiches that used to be thrown away," Jacques Bailet, head of the French network of food banks known as Banques Alimentaires, told NPR.

It's expected that similar laws may spread through Europe, but people are a lot less confident at it happening in the United States. The USDA believes that the biggest barrier to such a program would be cost to the charities and or supermarkets.

"The logistics of getting safe, wholesome, edible food from anywhere to people that can use it is really difficult," the organization said according to Gizmodo. "If you're having to set up a really expensive system to recover marginal amounts of food, that's not good for anybody."

Plus, the idea may seem a little too "socialist" for the average American's appetite.

"The French version is quite socialist, but I would say in a great way because you're providing a way where they [supermarkets] have to do the beneficial things not only for the environment, but from an ethical standpoint of getting healthy food to those who need it and minimizing some of the harmful greenhouse gas emissions that come when food ends up in a landfill," Jonathan Bloom, the author of American Wasteland, told NPR.

However, just because something may be socialist doesn't mean it's wrong. The greater wrong is the insane waste of money, damage to the environment, and devastation caused by hunger that can easily be avoided.

Planet

Single dad asks his daughters for fashion advice before a date and strangers on social media responded with some helpful suggestions.

The world is dark and full of terrors, but every once in a while it graces us with something to warm our icy-cold hearts. And that is what we have today, with a single dad who went viral on Twitter after his daughter posted the photos he sent her when trying to pick out and outfit for his date. You love to see it.




After seeing these heartwarming pics, people on Twitter started suggesting this adorable man date their moms. It was essentially a mom and date matchmaking frenzy.

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