All the press attention to top daily fantasy sports (DFS) sites DraftKings and FanDuel last week did not translate into fewer participants, according to DFS analytics provider SuperLobby.com, a DFS community with a background in sports betting.
The New York Times had reported that a DraftKings employee had won $350,000 on FanDuel, leading to the New York state attorney general launching an investigation, Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) to repeat calls for hearings, and ESPN to pull, then later restore, DraftKings branding on its football telecasts.
In fact, DraftKings and number two DFS site FanDuel both had their biggest Sundays of the season Oct. 11 according to SuperLobby, with DraftKings taking in over $25 million in entry fees, while FanDuel grabbed over $20 million.
"Fears concerning the potential impact of the mainstream media’s negative DFS coverage last week appear unjustified," said SuperLobby.com CEO David Copeland in releasing the figures. "The industry's three leading sites (DraftKings, FanDuel, and Yahoo!) all posted season-best NFL GPP results." GPPs are guaranteed prize pools paid out regardless of the number of entrees.
DraftKings took in about $2.4 million more in entry fees than it paid out in prizes, while FanDuel took in about $3.5 million more.
The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA) prohibits sports betting nationally except in states that were grandfathered in because gambling was legal before the bill passed. Online gambling is illegal, but there is a carve-out for the national online fantasy sports business as a "game of skill."
