cease and desist letter to draftkings
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8/20/2019 Cease and desist letter to DraftKings
1/11
DEPARTMENT
OF
THE PROSE UTIN ATTORNEY
ITY
ND OUNTY
OF HONOLULU
ALII PLACE
1060 RICHARDS STREET
• HONOLULU. HAWAII
96B13
PHONE (8061 768 7400 • FAX: (BOS) 768 751S
KEITH M KANESHIRD
PBOShCUTINnATIOFlNtY
Mr. J as on Robi ns
Chie f
Executive Officer
DraftKings. Inc.
376 Boylston Street. Ste. 501
Boston.
MA 02116 3825
Dear
Mr . Robins :
February 1. 2016
ARMINA A.
HINS
FISSTOEPOTV
PaOSSCirTlNG
AnoBNEY
This letter constitutes a demand thai DraftKings. inc. ( DraftKings ) immediately cease
and desist from accepting wagers from residents of the City and County of Honolulu in
connection with daily fantasy .sportscontests.
Gambling is illegal in Hawaii, and on January 27, 2016, the state Attorney General issued
a formal advisory opinion conrirming what I have long believed: Tliat daily fantasy sports
contests are a form of gambling and violate Hawaii statutes.
While DraftKings
repre sent s
that its contests are games of skill because players select
their lineups. Hawaii law specifically states that
a
contest
of
chance means any contest, game,
gaming scheme, or gaming device in which the outcome depends in a material degree upon an
element of chance, notwith.standing that skill of the contestants may also be a factor therein.
The law goes on to say that a person engages in gambling if he states or risks .something
of
value upon the outcome
of
a contest
of
chance
....
Further, by advancing a contest
of
chance, accepting wagers from Oahu residents and
profiting from those payments, DraftKings is promoting gambling under Hawaii
l w s
Like lawmakers and law enforcement in close to a dozen states, I reject the notion that
the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement .Act
exempts
fantasy sports contests from
state laws as it does not define what constitutes gambling. Hawaii s gambling laws are clear and
DraftKings is in violation of those laws.
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8/20/2019 Cease and desist letter to DraftKings
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M r Ja son R ob ins
February 1 2016
Page 2
Therefore, as Prosecuting Attorney for the City and County of Honolulu, I must demand
that DraftKings immediately halt accepting wagers from Oahu residents and refrain from doing
further business on Oahu
Attachments 2
Sincerely,
KEITH M KANESHIRO
Prosecuting Allorney
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8/20/2019 Cease and desist letter to DraftKings
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8/20/2019 Cease and desist letter to DraftKings
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The
Honorable
Rosalyn H Baker
Janua ry 27, 2016
Page
S t a t . § 712-1220
(2014) .
Al t e rna t i ve l y , th e
con t e s t s
invo lve
fu tu r e c on tin ge n t e ve nts
because
they
depend
on th e ac t i ons o f
a th le te s e n ti re ly
ou t s ide
th e pa r t i c i p a n t s ' in flu en ce o r con t ro l .
Id
I BACKGROUND.
A. T r a d i t i o n a l Fan t a sy League s v s . D a ily F an ta sy Spo r t s
Contests
We unders tand near ly s ix ty mi l l i on
Americans
pa r t i c i pa t e
in
fan tasy
spo r t s ,
with the va s t
ma jor i ty
p lay ing th e
t r ad i t i ona l
va r i e t y . Trad i t i on a l
f an tasy
s po r t s l eagues—usual ly organ ized
between a group
o f
f r i ends
o r
co l l eagues—cons i s t
o f
r e gu l a r f ans
o f
a
pa r t i c u l a r
spo r t
who
each own
t h e i r f an tasy teams.
Each team
i nc ludes
a r o s t e r
o f i n d i v i dua l s
p lay ing th e
s po r t in
r e a l
life
t y p i c a l l y by way o f a d ra f t
a t
th e beginning o f
the
season .
Po in t s
a re
awarded
each
week based
on
th e combined
per fo rmances
o f
those a t h l e t e s .
A ll
th e teams in a l e ague a re p a ire d up each week
and
th e
team
with th e
h ighe r combined
sco re
wins
th e matchup.
Lineups
can be a l t e r ed by
t r ad in g p la ye rs
or u sing a
wa ive r wire
to
p ick up
r emaining
f r e e a ge nts .
At
th e end o f th e a t h l e t i c
season ,
th e team with th e
b e s t r eco rd wins
th e l e ague .
Unl ike t r a d i t i o n a l
f an tasy
s po r t s
l e agues , da i l y
f an t a sy
s po r t s
con t e s t s i nvo lve compe t i t ions between hundreds o r t housands
o f
peop le
and
a re
p layed
da i l y . Any p l aye r
can
pu t
any
a t h l e t e
on to h is o r he r t eam, and each a t h l e t e can be p icked up an
un l im i t ed number
o f t ime s . In s t e ad o f a
d r a f t
a t th e
beg inn ing
o f
th e
s e a s on ,
a per son can d r a f t a
new t eam each day
f o r a
wager
(o r
buy- in ) . The
goa l in a
da i l y
fan tasy spo r t s
con t e s t i s
to p ick
th e h igh es t
sco r ing
p l aye r s who
co s t th e
l e a s t
in
o rde r
to
n e t th e
mos t po in t s
ov e r a l l .
The
f r equency
in which an owner wins o r l o s e s
a cash p r i z e i nc rea s e s to d ai ly , because
an owner p lays
in a
new
league
eve ry day.
See
Michae l Tr ipp i ed i , Dai ly Fantasy
Spo r t s
Leagues : Do
You
Have th e Sk i l l t o Win a t These
Games
o f Chance? , 5
UNLV Gaming L . J . 201,
203-204
(Fa l l 2014) .
The
amount
o f money
i nvo lved
d i f f e r s
t r emendous ly
between
t r a d i t i o n a l and da i l y f an ta sy
s p o r t s .
While t h e r e
a re
v a r i e t i e s o f
t r a d i t i o n a l
l eagues ,
they of t en
i nvo lve
around twelve
p laye r s
and a
buy
in
o f a round 50, l e ad i ng to
a
total po t o f a round 600 .
Dai ly
f an tasy
s po rts c on te sts , by con t r a s t , a l low wagers o f up t o
1 ,000 ,
invo lve
t housands
o f p laye r s a t a t ime , and a l low
each
i nd iv id u a l m u l ti pl e
en t r i e s l ead ing to top
p r i z e s
o f up to 1
mi l l i on . The high s takes and rap id rewards o f da i ly fan tasy spo r t s
Op. No. 16-1
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8/20/2019 Cease and desist letter to DraftKings
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The
Ho no ra ble R o sa ly n H
Baker
January
27,
2016
Page
con t e s t s
resemble
poker
more
than
t r ad i t i ona l
fan ta sy
leagues ,
and
t h i s resemblance
is no a c c i d en t
as th e
da i l y
f an t asy i ndus t ry
grew
ou t o f th e rubb le o f o nl in e p ok er . Jay Caspian Kang,
How th e
D aily F an ta sy
Spo r t s I n d u s t r y
Turn s
Fans
i n t o
Sucke r s ,
N.Y.
Times
Mag., Jan .
6,
2016, ht tp : / /www.nyt imes .eom/2016/01/06/
magaz ine /how- the -da i l y - f an t a sy - spo r t s - i ndus t ry - t u rn s - f an s - i n to -
sucke r s . h tm l . Dai ly f an t a sy
s po rts c on te st s were
c r a f t ed
to comply
wi th
th e f ede ra l
Unlawful I n t e r n e t Gambling Enforcement
Act
(UIGEA)
t h a t had shu t t e r ed on l i ne poker s i t e s bu t spe c i f i c a l l y exempted
f an t asy
s po r t s .
See
31 U.S.C.A.
§ 5362(1)
(E) ( ix)
(West 2016) . The
UIGEA
is c l e a r t h a t
none o f its p rov i s i ons
shou ld
b e cons t rued
as
a l t e r i n g , l im i t i ng , o r e xten din g any Federa l o r St a t e law
p roh i b i t i n g ,
pe rmi t t i ng ,
o r
r egu l a t i ng
gambling w ith in th e Uni ted
S t a t e s . 31 U.S.C.A. § 5361(b) (West 2016) . Thus th e l e ga l i t y
o f
da i l y
f a n t a sy
s p or ts c on te st s
is
a
ma t t e r
o f s t a t e l aw .
B.
A Br i e f His to ry o f
Haw a i i s
Gambling Laws.
Gambling, in one form
o r
ano th e r ,
has
been
i l l e g a l
in
Hawai i
s i n c e a t l e a s t
1850 .
See
The
King v .
Yeong Ting ,
6 Haw. 576 ,
577
(1885).
In
1893,
th e P ro vis io n al Government
passed a
law ou t l awing
many s p ec i f i c
types o f
gambl ing and
any o the r
game in which
money
o r
any t h i ng o f
va l u e is
l o s t
o r won. 1893
Haw.
Se s s .
L.
Act
21 .
This
law
rema ined in
fo rce fo r
n ea rly e ig hty yea rs un t i l
r ep l aced
by th e cu r r en t , more comprehensive
scheme
with
th e
adop t ion o f th e
Hawa i i
P e n a l
Cod e in
1 9 7 2 . 1 9 7 2
Haw.
ess
L . A c t
9 .
The
commentary
to th e cu rr en t
law
no t e s
t h a t
f o r th e
most
pa r t , th e
coverage of
th e
prev ious
law
has been prese rved , a l though th e
em phasis has been changed in s eve ra l i n s t ances . Haw. Rev. S ta t .
§§
712 -1 221- 1223 cmt .
(2014) . While th e gambl ing
prov i s ions
were
pa t t e rned on t hose proposed in
Michig an and adopted
in
New
York,
Hawai i t ook a more c au t i ou s
approach
t han
t h o s e two s t a te s . I d .;
Leg i s l a t i v e Reference
Bureau, Hawaii
Penal Code
22-23
(1970)
( r e f e r r i ng s p ec i f i c a l l y to Hawa i i s s o c i a l gambl ing a f f i rma t i v e
d e f e n s e ) .
Accord ing
to th e Confe rence Commit tee
Repor t
on
th e bill
adop t ing
th e Code,
The
ba s i c
t h r u s t
o f gambling o f f ense s o f
( t h e
proposed
Code]
i s
to
impose heavy
pena l t i e s
on
va r iou s fo rce s o f
i n s t i t u t i ona l i z ed
gambl ing
and
a t th e same t ime
to
r e cogn ize t h a t
soc i e t y
no
l onge r
condemns
as
c r im ina l ,
c a sua l
gambl ing
in a s o c i a l
con t ex t . Conf .
Comm
Rep. No. 1-72 ,
in
1972 Sena t e
Jou rna l ,
a t
739 .
I ndeed ,
it was t h e i n t e n t i o n
o f
th e
Confe r ence
Commi t t e e
t h a t
th e gambl ing s ec t i on
p rec lude
a n igh tc lub , ho te l , bar , r e s t au ran t ,
o r
any
o t h e r
bus i ne s s in
i n t e r s t a t e
commerce from p rov id ing
any
accommodation fo r th e promot ion o f any form o f
gambl ing .
Id .
Op. No.
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T he H o n o r a b l e R o s a l y n H
B a k e r
Janua ry 2 7 , 2 0 1 6
P a g e 4
emphases
a d d e d ) .
Rela t ive ly fe w cases h a v e i n t e rp re t ed th e
current
law
W h i le
n o n e
of
these mod e r n cases
h a v e cited decisions
u n d e r
th e pre viou s law
as
per suas ive ,
ne i t he r h a v e any denied
t h e i r
pe r s ua s iv e
e f f e c t .
II
ANALYSIS .
A. Dai ly f a n t a s y spo r t s b e t t i n g i s g amblin g u nd er Hawai i
law
In the a b s e n c e
of a
spec i f i c exc lu s ion
o r defense ,
g a m b l i n g i s
p ro hib ite d in
th e S t a t e o f Hawai i . Haw. Re v. S t a t . §§
7 1 2 - 1 2 2 0
e t
seq .
The
ac t i v i t y
involved in da i ly
f an tasy
spo r t s
be t t i ng
i s
gambling under th e p l a i n meaning of Hawaii s
gambling
s t a t u t e . ^
Thi s
s t a t u t e
s e t s ou t
t h r ee
m a i n r equ i r emen t s to m e e t
th e
de f i n i t i o n
o f g ambl ing
num be r s
added) :
A p e r s o n
e n g a g e s in
g a m b l i n g if
[1 ]
h e [ o r s h e ] s tak e s o r
r i s k s
someth ing o f
va lue [2] u p on th e
o u t c o m e
o f a
con t e s t o f
chance o r a fu tu re con t ingen t even t
no t
under h is
con t r o l
o r
i n f l u ence ,
[3 ]
upon
a n
agreemen t o r u nd ers ta nd in g t h a t h e o r
s o m e o n e
e l s e w il l r e c e iv e someth ing
o f va lu e
in
th e even t o f a
certain o u t c om e .
Haw
Rev. Stat .
§
712-1220
2014).^
Dai ly
f an tasy
spo r t s be t t i ng
m ee ts e a c h
of th ese
r equ i r emen ts .
We add r e s s th e first and t h i r d prongs
her e
a n d th e
se co nd p ron g
( con t e s t
o f
chance o r f u t u r e con t i ngen t
event )
i s addres sed b e l o w .
As to th e first
prong ,
th e
a m o u n t
w a g e r e d
o n each
da i l y
f an ta sy
spo r t s
con t e s t
i s
someth ing o f
va lue
t h a t i s
being s t ake [d ]
W h e t h e r f u r t h e r grounds
e x i s t
fo r c r im ina l o r c i v i l
enfo r cemen t
a n d to
w h a t
ex t en t
wi l l
d e p e n d
o n
th e pa r t i cu l a r
facts of each case
^ T he de f i n i t i o n s
s ec t i on
a l so
s t a t e s :
G a m bl i ng does
no t
i n c lude b o n a f ide bus ines s
t r a n s a c t i o n s v a l i d unde r th e law
o f
c o n t r a c t s ,
in c lu d in g bu t no t l im i t ed
to con t r a c t s
fo r th e
purchase o r s a l e
a t
a fu tu re da te o f s e c u r i t i e s
o r
commodi t ie s ,
a n d
agreements
to
c o m p e n s a t e fo r l o s s
caused
b y th e happening o f
chance ,
inc lud ing bu t
no t
l im i t ed
to con t r a c t s
o f i ndemni ty o r
gua ran ty a n d
life h e a l t h , o r a cc id e nt in su ra n ce .
H a w . Rev .
Stat
§
712 -1220
( 2 014 ) .
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Page 5
desp i t e be ing ca l l e d an en t ry
f ee . Under Hawa ii s p re vio u s
g amblin g law , th e
Hawai i Supreme
Cour t ru led
t h a t
such
a p l ay i ng
f e e was
a s tak e in th e outcome o f a
game.
See
St a t e
v . Prevo ,
44
Haw.
665,
677,
361
P.2d
1044,
1051 (1961)
( Every
p l aye r
o f
F a sc i na t i on pays a play ing fee o f
ten
cen t s .
It
i s obvious from
th e
cha r ac t e r
o f the game t h a t each p la ye r s ta ke s
h is
fee on a
chance
o f winning someth ing o f
va lue , be
it a
p r i z e
o r a f ree
game. ) . As fo r the
t h i rd
prong,
both major
da i l y
fan ta sy
spo r t s
companies
la y
ou t
in
de t a i l
what p l aye r s
wi l l
rece ive
on
th e
ba s i s
of
certain
outcomes.^
Furthermore, as examined below, a daily
f an t asy
spo r t s
con t e s t i s a c o n t e s t
o f
chance o r
i nvo lve s a
f utu re c on tin ge nt even t no t
under
[a p l a y e r s )
co nt ro l o r
i n f l uence .
Haw.
Rev. S t a t . § 712-1220. By
s t a t u t e
an a c t i v i t y
con s t i t u t e s
gambl ing
if e i t h e r r equ i r emen t i s met ; in our view,
da i l y
fan ta sy
spo r t s c on te sts q u al i f y
under both . This i s
discussed b e l ow .
1 . Da i l y
f a n t a s y
s po r t s c on te s t s a r e con t e s t s
o f
chance.
Dai l y fa nta sy s po rt s con t e s t s a re con t e s t s o f
chance
unde r
Hawai i
law,
which
de f i ne s them a s any
con t e s t , game,
gaming
scheme, o r gaming
dev ice in
which th e outcome depends in a
mat e r i a l
degree upon an e l emen t o f
chance ,
no tw i t h s t a nd ing t h a t s k i l l
o f th e
con t e s t a n t s may a l s o be a f a c t o r t h e r e i n . Haw.
Rev.
S t a t . § 712-
1220
(2014) .
No Hawai i cou r t
has
i n t e r p r e t ed
th e
ph ra se
m a t e ri a l
degree
upon an
e l emen t
o f chance .
The
appe l l a t e cou r t s
in
two
s t a t e s
with
th e
same
s t a t u t o ry l anguage—Nebr aska and New
York-
de f i ne
ma t e r i a l
to mean p redom inan t . Am Amusements Co. v .
Neb.
Dep t
o f Revenue , 807 N.W .2d 492 ,
502
(Neb. 2 01 1) ; P eop le v .
L i Ai
Hua,
24 Misc . 3d 1142 , 1145 (N.Y.
Crim.
C t .
2009 ) .
But
an
appe l l a t e
cou r t
in
Missou r i he ld t h a t
whi le c hance
must
be a
ma t e r i a l e l emen t in
de t e rmin ing
th e outcome
[ijt
need no t be
th e dominan t e l emen t .
Tho le
v .
W es t f a ll , 682
S .W.2d 33 , 37
n .8
See
Terms
of Use,
https://www.draftkings.com/help/terms
( l a s t v is it e d Jan . 27 , 2016)
( Con t e s t
r e s u l t s and
p r i z e
ca l cu l a t i on s
a re based
on
th e
f i n a l
statistics
and
scor ing
r e s u l t s a t
th e
comple t ion o f
th e l a s t
p ro f e s s i on a l spo r t s game
of e a c h individual Contest. Once Contest
results
are r e v i ew e d
and
graded , p r i z e s
a re
awarded . ) ; Terms
o f
Use,
h t tp s : / /www. fandue l . com/ te rms
( l a s t v is it e d
Jan .
27, 2016)
( The
p l aye r s
in
each con t e s t
who accumula te th e most f an t asy
po in t s
and comply with
e l i g i b i l i t y
requ i rements and app l i c ab l e
r u l e s wi l l win p r i z e s as s e t ou t
in
th e pos ted con t e s t
details. .
Op.
No.
16 -1
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The Hono ra bl e Ro sa ly n
H.
Baker
Janua ry
27,
2016
Page 6
Mo.
C t.
App.
1984)
(emphasis omi t t ed ) . As di scussed below, under
e i th e r i n t er p re ta t i on ,
da i l y
f an t a sy s po rt s c on te sts
a re
c on t e s t s
of
c h an ce u n de r H aw ai i law
b e c a u s e
c h a n c e is a material e l em e n t
fo r
th e
va s t
m ajo ri ty o f
p l aye r s .
In
St a t e v. Prevo ,
th e Hawai ' i Supreme
Cou rt u ph eld
th e
c on vic tio n o f
a
p l aye r
o f th e game F a s c i na t i on de s p i t e her
argument t h a t th e game was one o f s k i l l .
Sta t e v.
Prevo,
44 Haw.
665 361
P.2d
1044
(1961).^
The
Court
concluded
that :
'gambling'
i s an
appropr i a t e
cha rac t e r i za t i on
o f th e conduct o f
some
o r most
o f th e
pa r t i c i p an t s
in th e games
. . . no tw i t h s t a nd ing
t h a t
some
o f
th e p lay er s
may
be deemed
so s k i l l e d
a s no t
to
be gambl ing . Id .
a t
677,
361
P.3d
a t
1051. Accord ing to
t h e
Cour t :
[T]he t e s t o f
whe the r
a
game
i s
one o f
s k i l l o r
o f chance ,
o r
one
in which skill g r ea t l y p red om in ate s o ve r ch an ce , i s no t to
be measured
by th e s tan da rd
o f exp erts o r any
l imi ted
c l a s s o f
p l aye r s ,
bu t by
t h a t o f th e average
s k i l l
o f
a
major i ty o f
p l aye r s
l i k e ly to
play th e
game,
fo r the
purpose i s to
de t e rmine th e pr imary
ob j e c t
o f
th e game and t h i s i s one o f
the
ways o f do ing
so .
Id . a t 675-76 ,
361
P.3d a t 1050 ( c i t i ng Ruben v . Keuper ,
127
A.2d
906 (N.J .
Super .
C t.
Ch.
Div. 1956 ) ) .
For th e t i ny m in or i ty o f t op -pe r fo rming p l aye r s , skill makes
a
r ea l d if fe re n ce
in
da i l y
fan ta sy spo r t s
con t e s t s .
But
fo r
th e
va s t
major i ty o f p la ye rs , chance predominates . See, e .g . , Aff . o f
Zvi
Gi lu l a a t 5,
People v . D ra f tK ing s, I n c . , Index No.
453054/2015
(N.Y. Sup . C t. Nov. 24,
2014) ,
NYSCEF
Doc. No. 104 (no t ing t h a t th e
t yp i ca l c l i e n t p lay ing
Dra f tK ings MLB-F i f t y -F i f t y
game
134 t imes
would
have a win r a t i o o f rough ly 45 ,
i e
very s l i g h t l y
worse
t han random
chance ) . Under H aw ai i law , t h e r e f o r e , t h e s e con t e s t s
a re contests
of
chance
2 . Da i l y f a n t a s y s po r t s c o n t e s t s i n vo l v e f u t u r e
c o n t i n g e n t e v e n t s n o t unde r th e c o n t ro l o f p la y er s .
Par t i c i pan t s in
da i l y
f an t a sy
sp o rts c on te st s
win
money
based
on
th e
per formance o f a t h l e t e s
du r ing a t h l e t i c
even t s .
Dai l y
f an t asy spo r t s p l aye r s exe r c i s e
no
con t ro l o r
i n f l uence
ove r
th e
^ Fascination is a game somewhat akin to a mix of skee-ball
and bingo where p l aye r s compete aga i n s t each o the r to be th e
first
o n e to roll a rubber ball into
five holes
in a line
Id .
a t
666 -67 ,
361
P .2d at 1046 .
Op.. No. 16-1
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8/20/2019 Cease and desist letter to DraftKings
9/11
T he Honorable Rosa lyn H Baker
Janua ry
2 7 , 2 0 1 6
P a g e
ac t ions
of
t hose playe rs . A c h o s e n
a th l e t e
ma y become
i n j u r ed
o r
no t
p lay
in a
given game.
Ad dit io na l ly , th ere a re u nc on tro lla ble
c i r c u m s t a n c e s t h a t
may
a f f e c t th e
po in t s s c o r e d
by
an
a th l e t e ,
inc lud ing
w e a t h e r
and o f f i c i a t i ng . Th u s ,
dai ly
f an tasy
spo r t s
p laye r s r i sk [ ] s o m e t h i n g o f va lue upon th e o u t c o m e o f
a
f utu re c on tin ge nt even t
no t under
[ t he i r ] co nt ro l o r i n f l uence .
Haw. Rev. S t a t . § 7 1 2 - 1 2 2 0
2014) . Indeed , th e on ly
H a w a i i
Supreme C o u r t case to exp l i c i t l y m e n t i o n f ut ur e c on tin ge nt even t
g a m b l i n g i nvo lved g a m b l i n g
on
a
spo r t i ng
even t . S t a t e
v .
O k a m u r a ,
63 Haw. 3 4 2 ,
3 4 3 ,
626 P.2d 2 8 2 ,
2 8 3
1 9 8 1 ) p er
cu r i am) .
Ba s e d o n th e discuss ion
a b o v e , we
c o n c l u d e t h a t da i ly f an tasy
spo r t s con t e s t s con s t i t u t e
i l l e g a l g a m b l i n g
u n d e r H aw ai i la w . We
h o p e
t h a t we h a v e adequate ly r e s p o n d e d
to
y o u r i nqu i ry . Please
con t a c t u s
shou ld
you r equ i r e f ur th e r a ss is ta n ce .
APPROVED:
D ouglas S . C h i n
At t o r ney
Gene ra l
V e r y t r u l y
D e p u t y
At to rney
Gene ra l
O p. N o. 16-1
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8/20/2019 Cease and desist letter to DraftKings
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DEPARTMENT
OF
THE
ATTORNEY
GENERAL
DAVID
V.
IGE
GOVERNOR
DOUGLAS S CHIN
ATTORNEY
GENERAL
For Immedia te
Release
News
Release 2016-2
January
27,
2016
ATTORNEY
GENERAL
OPINES THAT
DAILY
FANTASY SPORTS CONTESTS
CONSTITUTE GAMBLING
UNDER
HAWAII LAW
HONOLULU - Hawaii Attorney
General
Doug Chin
issued
a formal advisory opinion
today stating that daily fantasy sports contests, such as those run by FanDuel and
DraftKings, constitute iilegai gambling
under
existing state laws.
Gambling generally
occurs
under Hawaii law
when
a
person stakes
or risks
something
of value
upon
a
game of chance o r upon any
future
contingent event
not under the person s control,
said
Chin.
The
technology may have changed,
bu t
th e vice h a s not
Nearly sixty million Americans participate in fantasy sports, with
the
vast majority
playing In a league with friends or colieagues that might be considered social gambling
which is iegai in Hawaii. In contrast, daily
fantasy sports contests
typically involve
competitions between hundreds or thousands of people, are played daily, involve
wagers of up to 1,000, and allow each Individual multiple entries leading to top prizes
of up to 1 million.
Hawaii is generally recognized to have some of the strictest antl-gambling laws
in
the
country, said
Chin.
Bystatute the Attorney General provides opinions upon questions of law submitted by
the
Governor,
the
state legislature or its members, or a state agency head. The
Department of the AttorneyGeneral is weighing next steps, including
v l
or criminal
enforcement,
consistent with its opinion.
The text of Attorney General Opinion 2016-01 is attached.
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8/20/2019 Cease and desist letter to DraftKings
11/11
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