Leading daily fantasy sports operator PrizePicks has switched up the games it offers in California as the state’s Attorney General Rob Bonta reportedly prepares to issue a negative opinion on the DFS vertical.
PrizePicks offers its against-the-house Pick’Em product, in which players select more or less on between two and six player performance projections, in 17 states plus the District of Columbia.
Until recently, that game was also available in California. But as of June 30, the operator’s website notes that only the Arena version of the game, in which users play against cohorts of other users rather than effectively betting against the house, is now available in the state.
The change was first reported by Dustin Gouker in The Closing Line on Wednesday.
“We’re excited to now offer Arena to players in California,” a PrizePicks spokesperson told SBC Americas on Wednesday. “Arena has been incredibly well received by our community and we’ve seen continued growth as more players engage with this peer-to-peer format.”
PrizePicks has a sizeable presence in California, taking advantage of the grey area in which DFS operates in a state with no legal online sports betting to appeal to the sports-loving chunk of the most populous U.S. state. The Atlanta-headquartered operator has deals with Californian MLB franchises the LA Dodgers, San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants.
Getting out in front?
Exactly what happens next remains to be seen, but it seems DFS in California is heading into the bottom of the ninth in a losing position.
After at least 10 years of recurring debate on the status of the gaming vertical in the state, Bonta is widely expected to submit his official opinion on DFS nearly two years after he began looking into fantasy games. SBC Americas understands the verdict will be negative on all DFS offerings, including both against-the-house and peer-to-peer pick’em, other peer-to-peer play, traditional DFS and any other form of fantasy with a cash prize.
California is considered the largest DFS market in the U.S. Another leading DFS giant, Underdog Sports, for example, noted that 10% of its total revenues come from California players. Should the vertical ultimately be banned in its entirety, operators such as PrizePicks would lose out on a ton of money.
Against-the-house DFS has been particularly scrutinized in the past for its alleged resemblance to player prop sports betting, so it’s possible that PrizePicks is looking to shift to a product that it feels will be easier to defend. PrizePicks, as well as Underdog, have a history of exiting other U.S. states and later returning with a peer-to-peer version of their products.
Underdog sinks teeth into issue in court
Operators have already shown they are willing to fight in court. SBC Americas broke news that Underdog has filed a lawsuit in California Superior Court requesting that a judge intervene and stop Bonta’s office from releasing the opinion, challenging whether he even has legal standing to present such an opinion.
“Any potential opinion is flawed because it has to rely on factual determinations the opinion process cannot and should not resolve, according to California law,” an Underdog statement told SBC Americas. “The last two Attorneys General, Kamala Harris and Xavier Beccera, did not issue opinions, and Attorney General Bonta has been in office for more than four years without questioning fantasy sports games. We are optimistic the law will be followed and are confident in the legality of fantasy sports in California. If a negative opinion is issued, fantasy sports will prevail on the merits.”
There is a suggestion that the filing from Underdog could delay Bonta issuing his opinion, which he was believed to be gearing up to do by July 3.
While all this goes on, PrizePicks and DraftKings, the latter of which offers a Pick6 DFS product in California, are the subjects of two class-action lawsuits in California that challenge the legality of fantasy contests.
