Disclaimer: I am not an attorney and the following is not intended as legal advice. If you have questions regarding the following, consult with a lawyer licensed in your jurisdiction.


In 2006, the United States Government specifically ruled that fantasy sports is a game of skill, and a legal form of online gaming (UIGEA Full Text) so long as it meets the following conditions:



(C) No winning outcome is based-

(1) On the score, point-spread, or any performance or performances of any single real-world team or any combination of such teams, or

(2) Solely on any single performance of an individual athlete in any single real-world sporting or other event.

It is clear: DFS is legal federally under current US law written specifically for fantasy sports.

In some states DFS is against state law. (Click here for a comprehensive breakdown.) More often than not when you take a closer look, you will find this is not due to some sort of moral stance against fantasy football, but rather to protect one competing interest or another.

A great example of this is Montana, which has banned its residents from playing at FanDuel and DraftKings, but has state-run fantasy football with much worse payouts to the players. Montana's state-run fantasy football games have a contest fee of 26% (74% payout), while the industry standard is around 10%. Clearly Montana does not have an ethical problem with fantasy football.