I want to highlight a development in anti-gambling laws, and celebrate the beginning of fantasy football playoffs. I will do the latter by offering some advice.
The Attorney General of New York has issued an opinion that playing fantasy football constitutes gambling. Consequently, two leading sites, FanDuel and DraftKings, are prohibited from soliciting in the State. A state legislator has already put forth a bill to lift the ban. The case is now making it’s way through the New York courts.
The interesting part is that the ban is strictly aimed at sites that explicitly offer cash for playing. As a disclaimer, I have never played on either site, and my knowledge is based on the general advertising by these companies. The prohibition does not appear to extend to free sites like Yahoo!, NFL.com, and CBSSports, among others, who host fantasy football leagues.
I play fantasy football myself for fun. I have consistently fielded playoff teams in my leagues. I also appeared in three championships in a row in one, winning twice. Here are some tips for building a championship team:
- Seek a competitive advantage – every year there is a position with a dearth of talent. It may be at lead wide receiver, quarterback, or, last year, tight end. Take one of these in the first two rounds.
- Don’t over rely on the experts when it comes to your draft – take who you want. Past production, which pre-season rankings are based on, is not indicative of future performance.
- Do over rely on the experts in choosing your lineup – they work full time analyzing match ups.
- I prefer young players even if they have little experience. Young players get hurt less frequently. This is a particular advantage in large leagues where they may be little opportunity to augment your team.
Posted by Scott Maravilla on December 16, 2015 at 06:09 AM
Comments
It isn’t just the explicit cash prizes, but also the short term aspect (hence daily) and the anonymity. The difference between traditional fantasy football and daily fantasy football is somewhat akin to the difference between a weekly poker game between friends and video poker slot machine.
Also, Yahoo! desperate to find a workable business model other than owning alibaba shares is pushing it’s daily fantasy competitor to its traditional fantasy player base to an obnoxious extent this year. If they haven’t also received a letter from the NY AG, they should.
Posted by: Brad | Dec 16, 2015 9:28:53 AM