(Getty)
Fans anxious to set their daily fantasy football lineups may be disappointed to learn there are no new contests open today for Super Bowl 50 by either DraftKings or FanDuel. Both sites did offer contests that included the Super Bowl but all the lineups had to be set prior to the start of last week’s Pro Bowl as the player pool included Pro Bowl players.
The two-game bundle was a way for the sites to work around legal terms that prohibit them from offering contests featuring only one game. This means for events like college football’s National Championship or the Super Bowl the site cannot offer new contests on the day of the game.
The sites are already facing numerous legal battles as to whether the games should be considered gambling or a “game of skill”. A number of states, including New York, have passed legislation banning sites like DraftKings and FanDuel. The ruling is under the appeal process, but Citigroup announced they will not allow New York customers to use their cards on the site until the issue is resolved.
Regardless of the legal battles, the popularity of daily fantasy continues to grow. During the regular season, it is difficult to watch any NFL game or programming without seeing an ad by one of the sites.
Fans can expect to continue seeing leagues partner more and more with daily fantasy sites. According to Forbes, research shows that daily fantasy player consume 40% more sports content once engaged with daily fantasy contests. In other words, daily fantasy is good for business.
Football fans will have to turn their attention to other daily sports such as basketball if they wish to participate in DFS contests. Otherwise, they will be counting down until the fall when daily fantasy football contests will be back leaving many disappointed fantasy players on Super Bowl Sunday.