The fantasy sports powerhouses Draft Kings and Fanduel have come under fire in recent news leaving millions of users with awkward feelings. The two websites have allowed fantasy sports users to participate in gambling in a revolutionary way. Users have the ability to join leagues of their choosing, draft players on a weekly basis and, most importantly, win substantial amounts of money.
Both sites have heavily advertised that players have won up to 1 million dollars and that anyone who plays Draft Kings or Fanduel has a great chance of winning. The sites allow players to buy in at any price they choose, giving the player financial flexibility. Since the games are weekly, any player has the right to begin playing or cash out at any time. Due to the convenience and profitability of both sites, they have become dominant forces in fantasy sports with millions of users.
But in the midst of their success the opposing companies find themselves making national headlines for the wrong reasons. A class action lawsuit was filed this past week against Draft Kings and Fanduel for fraud, negligence and misrepresentation of their organizations, ESPN business reporter Darren Rovell said. Reportedly, Draft Kings employees, not being allowed to use Draft Kings, won a mass sum of money on a Fanduel account allegedly using advanced statistics and analytics to give them an unfair advantage.
Keene State College senior and Draft Kings user Zac Proctor started using Draft Kings this past summer and hasn’t stopped since.
Sarah Morrison / Equinox Staff
Starting with a base of 25 dollars, Proctor said, “I haven’t cashed out at all, I always just keep investing.”
Proctor and some of his friends who use Draft Kings have had some success as Proctor said his roommate “cashed out at sixty dollars off of an original investment of twenty-five dollars.”
When asked if he felt uncomfortable about using the site given the recent negative news, Proctor said, “Not really. I kind of figured things like that happened regardless. As long as I don’t lose a ton of money on it I don’t really care.”
But not all Keene State users share the same outlook. Keene State College student Nick Leischner has been using Draft Kings and Fanduel for close to two years and has taken playing very seriously since the start of the Major League Baseball season in April.
Putting the scandal in perspective, Leischner said, ”It’s kind of like trying to get a better score than your friend on a math test but your friend has the answer key to the test and he doesn’t tell you.”
He continued,”I feel like I’ve been cheated out of a lot of money. Every week I put in a ton of hours trying to create the perfect line up. It’s not like I’m doing this for just fun either. I’m investing hundreds of dollars. This is a life changing amount of money that I’m playing for and it makes me so mad that there is a guy behind the scenes basing his picks off of mine and everyone else’s.”
Although he is outraged, Leischner said he’s still going to submit his NFL lineups every week, but not at as high stakes as he’s been playing recently. Leischner also shared his thoughts regarding the future of both sites.
“Draft Kings and Fanduel have already lost a lot of customers because of the scandal,” Leischner said. “The outcome of the case will decide whether or not people will continue playing.”
Nick can be contacted at ntocco@kscequinox.com
