FanDuel/DraftKings Anthony and I are going to investigate these fantasy companies that
operate much like Cantor did when they tried to monetize the fantasy
football craze. I personally find them tedious and when I tested Cantor the
take-out ranged from 5% for the bigger events to 20%-25% for the micro limits.
Eventually, Cantor sold out/merged with one of these outfits and now you
can't open a sports publication or watch/listen to a sports program without
encountering an ad. There are lots of sign-up offers out there and we'll
check those out but mostly going to look at what it would take to show
a profit on these sites and whether it looks like it's possible to rig these
in any way.
Being legally classified as a game of skill is part of how they avoid being
deemed a gambling site. It really is no different then sports betting though
in that there are elements of skill and luck in both. If one is skill and the other
is just dumb luck then I know a number of guys who have been very lucky
over the years and still think it's their skill that made the difference.
The other thing they do is charge a flat commission for each game (bet) you play.
Doing this removes the house aspect of it and makes them more of a service entity.
How this is all that different then the betting exchanges I have no idea.
Other then possibly the seeding of games with availability to get things moving,
the exchanges are a commission deal as well.
