Online Sports Betting, Not Illegal Gambling
By Dan Griswold
There has been a controversy recently about online sports betting. Websites like DraftKings and Fanduel have been scrutinized for being illegal gambling websites and being involved in insider trading. They are also disliked by some because they take money away from casinos.
These gambling sites are not illegal due to the skill involved in the game. The amount of information and analysis that goes into picking a team involves a good amount of skill. You can’t just draft random players and expect to win; you need to find players who aren’t injured, who have a favorable matchup, and who have been successful in past games. For example, you need the skill to know that Todd Gurley has rushed for 100 or more yards in the past four games, but he is playing the Minnesota Vikings who have the 11th best defense against the run. Average people do not know all of this information which makes DraftKings and FanDuel a skill based game and not illegal gambling.
People have the right to spend their money however they want to. The casinos are against online sports betting because it takes away from their profits, but that doesn’t make the websites illegal. If people want to spend their hard earned money on DraftKings and FanDuel, they should be able to do so.
“I don’t see a problem with websites like DraftKings and Fanduel,” said DraftKings user Brodey Barr. “They make sports way more exciting to watch. You spend a lot of time picking your team and if they end up doing well it is a great feeling. People should be able to do what they want with their own money. If people would rather spend money on DraftKings instead of a casino, that’s their decision.”
The Downside of Online Sports Gambling
by Joey Cook
Over the past few months, much controversy has arisen about online sports gambling via companies like Fanduel and DraftKings.These companies host daily and weekly fantasy sports-related contests and allow users to earn money based on individual player performances.
Many people believe that there is no problem to this, as it takes skill to play and is just for fun. Although that there are some free contests you can join, a majority of the contests people play are for a cash prize. There are also many people who think that this shouldn’t be allowed, as it is taking away from casino money, and does a poor job enforcing the minimum age requirement.
Casinos all around the country have sportsbooks, which is a place a gambler can wager on various sports competitions. The method of betting depends on the sport and type of game. Ever since companies such as DraftKings and Fanduel came out, casinos have been very slow with sports betting because everyone has moved to these websites. People believe these websites should be removed so that everyone wishing to bet on sports can go back to how it was and go to a casino.
In addition to costing establishments money in profits, DraftKings and Fanduel do a poor job enforcing the age required to play in the cash contests. You must be 18 to play, but there is little enforcement–all you have to do is type in your age. The sites do not confirm your age, and basically assume you are correct with what you type in.
DraftKing user Brian Poillucci said, “Although I am 18, when I won money one time, they never confirmed my age. All they did was go by what I typed in when registering for an account.” If they are letting people under the age of 18 play these money based contests,anyone can win, which defeats the purpose of having an age limit and essentially allows users to break the law.
People refer to how casinos don’t let you in unless you show proof of age. That is how these websites should be if they are going to have an age limit. They should have a way you have to prove your age rather than just entering your birth date when creating your account.
Fanduel user Neil Morrison said, “Casinos do a very good job on the age required to enter, as DraftKings and Fanduel do not. If all it takes is a 12 year old to say they are 18; these websites need to make a change immediately.”
The First Launch 