Michigan has joined the list of states to ban Pick’Em Daily Fantasy Sports Contests. According to a report by PlayMichigan.com, the state’s Gaming Control Board proposed a ban that would prohibit playing in any games that mimic betting on sports. The proposal was accepted on October 6th and will take effect at the end of October. PrizePicks’ legal status in Michigan is now coming to an end, as are similar operators that offer Pick’Em DFS contests like Underdog Fantasy.
Michigan is not the only state to ban Pick’Em contests in recent weeks. Let’s take a look to get a PrizePicks legal status update as the news reverberates throughout the industry.
The PrizePicks legal news in Michigan was preceded by similar decisions across the country. The State of Florida sent cease and desist letters to Pick’Em contest operators in late September, effectively banning them from offering the games and New York followed suit last Tuesday. Wyoming was the first to ban Pick’Em contests, ruling them illegal in July of this year.
PrizePicks’ legal status has been heavily scrutinized in the last few months as states began reviewing the legality of their products.
PrizePicks leveraged its huge customer base in New York to lobby the state’s gaming board to reconsider the proposed prohibition on Pick’Em contests. Underdog Fantasy CEO, Jeremy Levin took the fight to social media, specifically in response to the news out of Florida in September:
We received a letter from the Florida Gaming Commission alleging that our contests violate FL law. They are saying that all paid fantasy violates FL law in their view, including our season-long, daily drafts, and Pick’em games. Here’s the correspondence. pic.twitter.com/KwK37QQy92
— Jeremy Levine (@JerLevine) September 22, 2023
It is unclear whether other game types on Pick’Em sites will be allowed to continue. While PrizePicks predominantly focuses on Pick’Em DFS, sites like Underdog Fantasy offer Best Ball and other DFS formats.
The news out of Michigan, New York and Florida leaves PrizePicks’ legal status in limbo, but they are still operating in most states.
However, there is fear across the industry that other states will re-consider PrizePicks legal status and the legality of competitors in the state. Igamingbusiness.com reported that several other legal battles are unfolding throughout the country. The exact nature of these legal battles, in addition to their location, is unknown.
Most DFS players can continue playing on PrizePicks throughout the United States. The list of PrizePicks’ legal states are: Arkansas, Alabama, Alaska, California, Colorado (*lineups must contain at least four players), Washington D.C., Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin, and West Virginia.
PrizePicks is also legal in the states of Arizona and Massachusetts but only for those who are 21 and older.
Stokastic will continue to have PrizePicks legal status updates, as well as news and information on the regulatory environment surrounding Pick’Em contest play.
