Appeals Court Puts Fantasy Back in Business

After briefly being put out of business in New York, daily fantasy sites FanDuel and DraftKings were given new life by an appeals court.

The sites have been TV advertisers, spending more than $100 million on commercials this football season, especially in NFL games.

New York’s attorney general Eric Schneiderman has been moving to have daily fantasy branded as illegal gambling. Early Friday, a court refused to enjoin Schneiderman from shutting the site down.

Later, DraftKings appealed and was granted a stay, enabling them to be open for business for another NFL weekend.

“We are disappointed with the Court’s decision, and have filed a notice of appeal and an expedited motion to stay the Court’s decision, pending our appeal, in order to preserve the status quo. This immediate stay was granted, so we will remain fully operational in New York," said David Boies, counsel for DraftKings in a statement.

“We look forward to a full and fair hearing and are confident we will demonstrate clearly to the Court why we should be able to continue to offer our DFS games in New York permanently,” Boies said. “We are encouraged by our dialogue this week with New York state legislators. We look forward to continuing that conversation.”

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.