Reports: Fantasy Sports Trade Association facing subpoena

The Fantasy Sports Trade Association is reportedly being subpoenaed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The Fantasy Sports Trade Association is reportedly being subpoenaed by a prosecutor based out of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Tampa, Fla. 

The Wall Street Journal reported the news Friday, writing that the FTSA, the main trade association for the fantasy sports industry received a grand jury subpoena as part of the ongoing federal investigation into the fantasy sports business. ESPN’s Darren Rovell confirmed the news. Popular daily fantasy sites DraftKings and FanDuel have raised questions over the legality of the businesses and their operations.

The subpoena reportedly ordered the FSTA to provide copies of board-meeting minutes. The government may be investigating possible antitrust violations and/or fraud among fantasy sites.

On Thursday, Nevada regulators ordered daily fantasy sports websites to shut down and stipulated that they would need gambling licenses to operate within the state. Other states could follow suit, the Journal writes.

Earlier in October, a DFS participant filed a federal lawsuit against FanDuel and DraftKings, contending that the sites conspired and neglected to inform participants that each site’s employees were allowed to play the other‘s games.

• What impact will the lawsuit filed against DraftKings, FanDuel have?

- Jeremy Woo