The Daily Fantasy Sports: A new generation obsession

Daily Fantasy Sports or DFS as it is commonly known, involves players that build their own team for a particular sports league or championship and compete with other players and their teams on the Internet. Unlike regular fantasy sports where you need to stick around with the same team for the entire season, the Daily Fantasy Sports allows you to make changes in your team on a weekly basis. It is undoubtedly one of the coolest and most entertaining approaches to celebrating your choice of real life players and sports and engaging in recreational and competitive action tournaments online. The popularity of Daily Fantasy Sports has skyrocketed in the recent times and can be vouched for by the hardcore statistics of over millions of people across the globe that participate in DFS on a regular basis.

With a constant hunger to stay abreast with the latest statistics and analysis updates, the players essentially invest a significant amount of money as well as time on Daily Fantasy Sports. Apart from the emotional 'connect' that the DFS players have with their chosen sports and teams, there is a lot of money at stake as well. After all, isn’t it just incredible to witness your chosen team and players perform well in a tournament purely based on your knowledge and statistical awareness! It is like being not only the owner or manager of a particular team of your choice but also a sports strategist that possesses a thorough understanding of player and team dynamics.

So, is playing the Daily Fantasy Sports for money legal?

The Daily Fantasy Sports differ from the regular fantasy sports in the fact that the former requires the players to invest money for playing the game and is therefore often touted akin to gambling. Now, there is the question of whether it is actually treated as typical gambling or not. The fact is that different countries have their different laws that stipulate whether Daily Fantasy Sports must be governed under the typical gambling legislation or not.

In the USA, Daily Fantasy Sports such as football are considered entirely legal under the federal law, provided they meet a set of criteria. However, there are certain local legislations in the different states that consider all kinds of play-for-cash games and sports as illegal unless they are based purely on skill and not chance. Also, there are other considerations such as the game format apart from ‘any chance’ as well that is followed by the different states in determining whether the Daily Fantasy Sports are to be established as legal or not.

Speaking of India, the central government stipulates that a fantasy sport that involves ‘mere skill’ as a means of winning the game, will not be covered under the typical gambling laws. In addition to this, the Constitution of India also outlines the discretion of the different states in designing their own set of law regarding online gambling and betting.

Why Daily Fantasy Sports is a lucrative option for casinos

The fact that the Daily Fantasy Sports are being touted as the ‘next big thing’ in the gaming industry stems from its phenomenal popularity among sports enthusiast around the world. Here are the ways in which Daily Fantasy Sports can be regarded as a highly profitable option for casinos looking to expand their customer base as well as boost their revenues.

Gamers looking to broaden their casino experience find Daily Fantasy Sports a highly enjoyable and entertaining option. The highly immersive format of Daily Fantasy Sports allows the individual players to incorporate their skill and knowledge for a particular sport of their choice in selecting their teams and identifying players that can be useful in winning a particular championship. In simpler words, it is a real boost to the confidence of the gamers when their selected team wins a particular match and motivates them to indulge in recurrent cycles of gaming that in turn helps the casino operators make consistent revenues.

Unlike regular fantasy sports, the Daily Fantasy Sports also provide the gamers with a monetary motivation of making quick bucks simply by using their understanding of the sports and researching the current game statistics and analyses. Unlike regular gambling that is primarily based on ‘chance’, the Daily Fantasy Sports are a safer and more reliable alternative for people who do not wish to invest their hard-earned money on an outcome that is based on mere luck. The casinos can make massive profits through the investment made by the Daily Fantasy Sports’ gamers.

The obsession for Daily Fantasy Sports is growing at an astronomical pace, not to mention the heavy capital investment from the gamers that further accelerate the popularity of the concept. Studies indicate that the Daily Fantasy Sports industry is likely to be worth around $14 billion in the next couple of years, by 2020 to be a little specific. The Daily Fantasy Sports not only allow several hours of immersive game play for both casual watchers as well as the sports fans but also adds a whole new dimension of competition to your favourite championship or league matches. It is not a surprise that this multi billion dollar industry is flourishing at an unprecedented rate throughout the world.

Have a look at our other blog in the series Casinos can now interest millennials by fantasy sports