It looks like the Trump administration isn’t going to be completely laissez-faire, at least as far as the DraftKings/FanDuel merger is concerned. In cooperation with the State of California and the District of Columbia, the Federal Trade Commission has filed 
an injunction seeking to annul the marriage of the DFS giants, saying it would — if consummated — give them more than 90% of market share, effectively a monopoly. Reasoned Bureau of Competition Director Tad Lipsky, “This merger would deprive customers of the substantial benefits of direct competition between DraftKings and FanDuel.” The two companies said relatively little in response, stating that “In the days ahead, it will be business as usual as we prepare for the start of the NFL season.”
They did offer a preview of their appeal, stating that they were put a small part of a larger fantasy-sports industry. To that the FTC rejoined that — as far as DFS is concerned — FanDuel and DraftKing are each other’s main rivals. Loose cannon and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban fired off a tweet blaming “backwards and confusing regulations for the lack of competition.” If we were to blame anything it might be the lack of regulation, as state legislatures scramble to catch up to the rapidly growing DFS phenomenon. We’ve seen in the recent past that, faced with a penumbral legal status, DFS owners would rather pack up shop and go home. The federal government’s move against FanDuel and DraftKings will bear close watching.
* If the regulatory learning curve for DFS is steep, it’s perpendicular for e-sports, a craze that’s growing so fast even the casino industry can’t keep pace. Legal expert I. Nelson Rose — who understands e-sports a lot better than I do — explains some of the problems connected with this very fluid form of competition: “Even the games are owned by companies. Every few weeks, they change the game. Could betting on football be regulated if the owner of the entire game were to arbitrarily change the shape of the ball every week?” For that matter, imagine if the rules of roulette could be arbitrarily changed, with no recourse.
Nevada is trying to cope with the e-sports phenomenon by establishing parimutuel pools for wagering, as it used to do for jai alai. Currently there’s a big pool for betting on players’ “skins” or avatars, a bubble that Rose predicts will burst, leaving a lot Millennials looking mighty chagrined. Although the burden of enforcement will be on sports books, the Nevada Gaming Control Board has decreed that “licensed sports pool shall not accept a wager on an event unless the date and time at which the outcome of the event is determined can be confirmed from reliable sources satisfactory to the chairman or from records created and maintained by the book in such manner as the chairman may approve.” This, Rose says, “is a rather brilliant move. Nevada regulators get to set all of the standards, pretty much for the entire world. And they don’t have to do any of the actual work.” We agree.
* In a sop to Connecticut OTBs facing competition from a third tribal casino, the Legislature will let them expand from 16 in number to 24. That’s not quite good enough news for parimutuel owners like Connecticut Gold Coast operator Ted Taylor, who moaned, “How do I end up being screwed? How is that fair?” His OTB in Windsor Locks will, he estimates, lose 35% of its business, while three OTBs he runs will have their revenue diminished by 20% apiece. The timing of the satellite casino is particularly unkind to the Nutmeg State’s main OTB owner, Sportech, which is wrapping a $20 million makeover of its properties. So far we haven’t seen much evidence that the satellite casino will hold MGM Springfield in check but quite a bit that the Connecticut gambling pie will be sliced thinner and thinner
In an unrelated development, Foxwoods Resort Casino is joining with CT Lottery to offer a Foxwoods-branded lottery ticket. CEO Felix Rappaport is to be credited for coming up with a new revenue stream for his besieged property.
