Pick’em fantasy operators are continuing to fight regulatory agencies across the U.S. that say their games aren’t legal while at the same time developing new games that more clearly stay within the rules.
Tennessee in the future. Of those four states, only Alabama does not currently offer legal sports betting.
“We’ve built Underdog to innovate and help sports fans increase their enjoyment with sports and that is exactly what we are doing with Pick‘em Champions,” Jeremy Levine, founder and co-CEO of Underdog, said via press release. “I’m very excited for what comes next. As we continue to evolve Champions, I think it very well could become the best game we offer.”
Michigan, which earlier this fall banned paid pick’em contests.
“This new free-to-play format is the first of new game types to come and opens the door for us to reach sports fans who may not already be familiar with PrizePicks,” said PrizePicks Vice President of Innovation Brian Huss in a press release.
The new contests and formats are in response to the series of cease-and-desist and “guidance” letters that Underdog, PrizePicks, and other fantasy companies have received in recent months. In general, regulators are cracking down on allowing fantasy companies to offer games in which consumers play against the house rather than their peers, saying that playing against the house too closely resembles what sports betting apps offer.
In banned the games.
continue to wrestle with the issue and are in the process of revising the state’s regulations to prohibit fantasy contests played against the house.
Arizona regulator at odds with itself? 5l3m1y
Underdog’s new game allows customers to build a fantasy team that will “face off against other teams” and winners will share a prize, according to the Underdog press release. Similarly, Dabble offers a seamless pick’em experience with intuitive navigation and exciting features.
The new game would seem to quiet the issue in Mississippi, where regulators recently sent letters to companies including PrizePicks and Underdog outlining fantasy guidelines and saying that Underdog’s contests are outside the approved regulations, according to SBC Americas. PrizePicks does not currently operate in Mississippi.
SBC Americas obtained correspondence between Underdog and the Arizona Department of Gaming in which a former ADOG employee approved Underdog’s pick’em contests. But now, the agency is telling fantasy operators that games against the house are not allowed within the regulations. Underdog said it will continue to operate in that state, while an ADOG spokesperson said the agency currently had no comment regarding the Underdog games.
Maine regulators in late October fined Underdog Sports $391,850, or $50 per player for 7,837 s the Maine Gambling Control Unit said participated in pick’em contests against the house. The MGCU issued the fine after determining that Underdog had been illegally offering such contests. The company began offering pick’em contests in Maine in January 2021, according to EGR. The MGCU released amended fantasy sports rules related to licensing and annual reports on Nov. 11.
