What Is PrizePicks
PrizePicks is a fantasy sports experience that relies on statistics rather than the head-to-head matchups that most traditional fantasy sports leagues are based upon. Every single day, PrizePicks offers between 25 to 30 different events for users to select on. Users have to select five of those events and enter them into a contest where they could win prizes if they get the most player picks correct. Although PrizePicks has daily fantasy sports contests, it also has weekly and monthly contests as well. Users can create their own contest or join an already existing (or "public") contest. When creating a contest , users can select anywhere from 2-6 different participants, and PrizePicks allows for winners to receive up to 6x their initial wager (or up to $10,000). Unlike livelock casinos, a user’s ability to win really comes down to skill. You could easily pick the player that works out just fine, but since PrizePicks is heavily reliant on statistics, users can make more informed and educated guesses. PrizePicks isn’t about luck or chance, but rather carefully selecting outcomes that should be most accurate.
CT’s Online Gaming Law
So, is PrizePicks legal in Connecticut? Well, before we delve into "the legality of", we first need to understand the legal scenario here.
Legal Scenario in Connecticut: For the most part, the law regarding wagering on fantasy sports and skill games are same. In Connecticut, any business that offers the customers to do some skill, along with placing a wager is counted as fantasy sports. The recent legislation that opened we doors to all the Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS), is bill 16-84. As this bill 16-84 legalized DFS and Fantasy Sports games, it would also be called as daily fantasy sports fiscal accountability bill.
This bill 16-84 stated that the state can impose an occupancy tax of 10% to 15% on fantasy sports games depending on the type of game the player is playing or the game they are opting to wager on. In addition, the bill stated that fantasy sports operators – whose gross revenues are $2 million or more per calendar year – must pay $5,000 one-time fee.
On the other hand PrizePicks falls under fantasy sports games, so it means that for PrizePicks players too will have to pay the taxes for the DFS. Now, the PrizePicks players – who will be playing at the Fantasy Sports Game, will be paying 10% to 15% of taxes on their bet.
Is PrizePicks Currently Legal in CT?
Currently, a daily fantasy sports gambling option like PrizePicks is illegal in Connecticut as things currently stand. Right now, a DFS needs a license from the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection and that license needs the approval of the Connecticut Legislature since daily fantasy sports is currently regulated by the state as part of a lottery scheme. To get a license, a DFS operator needs a license, which entails paying the former a yearly fee and a one-time application fee as well as a bond. As the time of this writing, PrizePicks is not connected with the Connecticut Lottery and has not obtained the necessary license to be one of the approved daily fantasy sports operators in Connecticut.
PrizePicks vs. Fantasy Sports
PrizePicks presents a different kind of game, even when it comes to traditional fantasy sports. One of the biggest differences is that in classic daily fantasy sports models, users compete against each other. In PrizePicks, players don’t really compete against anyone other than the house. There are no head-to-head contests, leagues, or tournaments. You choose from the player props offered on the website and place your own bets. You never have to worry about someone you are playing against picking the same player as you.
Another big difference is participation in PrizePicks is not the same as traditional fantasy sports. You are not assembling a fantasy team and using that team to compete against other players for money. Even if there were such a platform, and despite the fact that DraftKings and FanDuel are reportedly both going to offer fantasy sports based on players’ prop bets, DraftKings and FanDuel have been over the last few years , and will continue to be for the foreseeable future, in litigation over whether using players’ prop performance or stats is a derivative use of their right of publicity. Whether fantasy teams based on player prop stats would be derivative would likely depend on how such a platform is offered, but PRIZEPICKS is not doing that.
A final point for users: You can use PrizePicks to sidestep issues arising from states that have outlawed daily fantasy sports by only allowing "fixed-odds" prizes, similar to Pinnacle, which uses something called FantasyPoints. However, while that’s true theoretically, in practice, it’s really a distinction without a difference. The website still has daily fantasy sports contests, and PrizePicks/Cube4sports is still in the business of daily fantasy sports. And remember, they are going to be subject to the same legal issues that DraftKings and FanDuel are facing.
What This Means for Connecticut Residents
The legal status of PrizePicks in Connecticut has implications for local residents. Even though Connecticut has made legal DFS options available with the launch of its state-regulated DFS operator, DFS is still in its infancy in Connecticut, and many residents have opted to play on DFS sites that are not regulated by Connecticut. PrizePicks is one of these DFS sites that remains an option for Connecticut residents. However, there are some important things that players in Connecticut need to be aware of. For one, the terms for PrizePicks on-site state that Connecticut residents cannot play on PrizePicks, so it is already clear that PrizePicks does not want Connecticut residents on its site, much less offering them promotions. In addition, PrizePicks promotes itself as an alternative to traditional fantasy sports and states that it is not a gambling site and therefore it does not have to comply with Connecticut laws related to DFS.
Connecticut law is pretty clear about how it views DFS. DFS sites need licenses, whist DFS sites that operate without the appropriate licenses are committing a class A misdemeanor. While it is arguable that DFS in general is illegal or at least being engaged in illegally in Connecticut, it is clear that PrizePicks’ operations fall into a legal gray area. On the one hand, PrizePicks may not be a illegal gambling site, but on the other hand, Connecticut law states that it is illegal to operate an unlicensed DFS operator. What this means for Connecticut residents is simply that playing on PrizePicks is a gamble. PrizePicks may find a way to find legal ground with Connecticut regulators, or regulators could decide to crack down on all DFS operators in the state, but the time being, playing on PrizePicks by a Connecticut resident could be illegal under Connecticut law and could result in a class A misdemeanor for players who have deposit funds with PrizePicks or withdraw funds out.
Will PrizePicks and Online Gaming Be Allow in the Future in CT
Interest in online fantasy sports gaming is already growing exponentially and will likely continue to do so in response to developments in gaming. In addition to DraftKings and FanDuel, other online fantasy sports gaming platforms like FanDraft, Underdog Fantasy, MonkeyKnifeFight, and BracketHQ have emerged as challenges to DraftKings and FanDuel’s monopoly on the major sports leagues. Some online fantasy sports gaming sites accept prop bets on various outcomes that are more akin to what is available with sports wagers (i.e., who scores the most points in a basketball game; which player will be the top goal scorer in a hockey game; whether a defensive team will score the first point). And for sports betting fans, wagering on the outcome of a game , we expect that new apps that combine sports betting with fantasy sports gaming may emerge.
Connecticut’s Attorney General confirmed to the media that the state intends to pursue sports betting and daily fantasy sports as soon as possible. The Lege’s mandate for the 2022 session will be to implement Molloy’s 2017 compact amendment with the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot Tribes into state law. The state has yet to sign a gaming revenue-sharing agreement with Off Track and OTB. The state also has not signed a compact amendment with Sportech, which operates off-track betting facilities. Any such compact amendment is required under the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (notably, Ledyard is home to Sportech’s largest OTB and facility). Without such legislation and legal footings, other daily fantasy sports sites like PrizePicks may withdraw from the state, or operate in the shadows without explicit legal protections and enforcement.