LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — On Feb. 15, the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) sent cease and desist letters to two daily fantasy sports operators that DFA believes to be offering unlicensed sports betting, violating the Arkansas Constitution.
Daily fantasy sports operators offer a version of the traditional fantasy football concept, where a consumer creates a "fantasy" team made up of players from various teams, and gets points based on those players' performances.
In the last year, these operators have offered a product associated with sports betting: “player prop bets.”
“The Internet is today’s equivalent of a ‘wide open town’ where unlicensed gambling thrives outside of the taxation and age verification required by the law," said DFA Regulatory Administrator Trent Minner. "DFA is telling these companies ... Arkansas is not ‘wide open.'"
Traditional Daily Fantasy Sports websites operate legally under Act 1075, but Arkansas law does not allow these operators to be unlicensed.
“Arkansas law requires sports bets to be placed with a licensed sportsbook that is required to verify the age of the consumer. The state has an interest in protecting Arkansas children from operators seeking to exploit underage Arkansans,” said DFA Secretary Jim Hudson.
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