A California Superior Court judge Wednesday afternoon denied a motion from Underdog Sports to prevent Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office from issuing an opinion on the legality of daily fantasy sports (DFS). The opinion is expected any time now, and KCRA3 last week reported that the opinion will convey Bonta’s view that daily fantasy sports contests are illegal in the state of California.
Underdog Sports — a major provider of fantasy contests in California and across the U.S. — filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking a temporary restraining order to stop the opinion from being released, a preliminary injunction, and a writ of mandamus arguing that Bonta doesn’t have the authority to issue what’s expected to be a sweeping anti-DFS opinion. Judge Jennifer K. Rockwell Wednesday ruled only on the request for a temporary restraining order to stop the opinion from being filed.
In her denial, she wrote that because the request for the opinion was more than 18 months old, Underdog Sports had “ample opportunity to raise such a challenge at any time … the fact that petitioners delayed filing this action does not constitute a basis for ex parte relief.”
The company argues that existing state law has not addressed whether DFS constitutes illegal gambling. Because of that, Underdog lawyers wrote, an opinion on it is outside of Bonta’s purview. Attorney general opinions do carry weight, but they are only advisory, and not legally binding on courts, agencies, or individuals. In this case Bonta’s opinion would not immediately change anything — fantasy sports currently operate in a gray area in California. They are not explicitly legal or illegal. In-person Class III gaming with Indian tribes as license holders and parimutuel wagering are currently legal. No form of digital gambling is explicitly legal in the state.
Underdog: No immediate change, anyway
An Underdog spokesperson told InGame, “The court stated that the attorney general’s forthcoming opinion on fantasy sports ‘does not effect any change in law’ and does ‘not carry the weight of law.’ As a result, the court explained that the protective relief we sought was not necessary. We thank the court for that clarity and look forward to continuing to offer our fantasy contests in California.”
The question for Underdog and other fantasy providers is what happens if Bonta’s office does offer an opinion that fantasy sports should be eliminated in the state? Indian Country, which leads the way on gaming in California and is very influential in Sacramento, is currently fighting to have multiple entities not regulated by the state removed — prediction markets, sweepstakes, and fantasy contests.
The tribes do not offer fantasy contests, and on June 23 sent a letter to the state legislature asking it to hold off on fantasy proposals until the AG opinion is issued. In the letter, the California Nations Indian Gaming Association and Tribal Alliance of Sovereign Nations wrote that if a bill is introduced before the AG’s opinion is released, California Indian Country would be “compelled to oppose it.”
California’s legislature is already considering a bill backed by tribes to prohibit unregulated sweepstakes platforms from operating in the state. AB 831 is scheduled for a hearing July 8.
