Nevada Gambling Control Board bans daily fantasy sports in state

The Nevada Gaming Control Board has banned residents of the state from participating in daily fantasy sports such as DraftKings and FanDuel.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board has banned residents of the state from participating in daily fantasy sports on the grounds that it constitutes gambling, it announced Thursday.

Daily fantasy “meets the definition of a game or gambling game,” the gaming board concluded. 

The Wall Street Journalreported earlier Thursday that the FBI and Department of Justice are investigating the legality of pay-to-play daily fantasy sports. Daily fantasy sites have previously been allowed to operate due to an exception in the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 for online games of skill.

The daily fantasy industry has come under increased scrutiny since sites like DraftKings and FanDuel began an aggressive advertising blitz at the start of the NFL season.

Earlier this month, The New York Times reported that daily fantasy employees had taken advantage of insider information to win large jackpots on rival sites, including one DraftKings employee who won $350,000 from a $25 bet on FanDuel. Both sites issued a joint statement saying there was no evidence their employees had taken advantage of privileged information but later permanently barred their employees from participating in daily fantasy contests. 

- Dan Gartland