November 12, 2015
Peter Solari Follow @4PeteSakeNY
This is why New York sucks! New York City is still the greatest city in the world, except if you live there.
New York Attorney General Ed Schneiderman has classified daily fantasy sports, including FanDuel and DraftKings, as illegal gambling, and has ordered the two companies to cease accepting wagers from the State.
According to a statement released Schneiderman, his office's month-long investigation into the fantasy giants has revealed that, "Daily fantasy sports is neither victimless or harmless, and that DraftKings and FanDuel are the leaders of a massive scheme intended to fleece sports fans." The statement also accused FanDuel and DraftKings of, "Causing the same kinds of social and economic harms as other forms of illegal gambling," but didn't include any specifics.
Of course, Schneiderman didn't have to go into specifics for everyone to know what he meant. The "victims" Schneiderman references are government officials, like himself. You see, FanDuel and DraftKings are "fleecing" the government because they're profiting off their brilliant business idea. And worse, it's extremely popular with people across the country. With a winning formula like that, the state of New York has no choice but to step in, and either regulate it or ban it.
The state of New York is like the Mafia, looking to suck everything they can out of you. They're okay with you handling your business in their neighborhood, but you have to pay the piper if you want to play. And while that may sound like extortion, don't worry, because the state is going to "protect" you.
This is nothing new in New York. New York City had a similar situation regarding Uber recently. The motivation behind that was the same as it is here; money and power. New York is very business-friendly, as long as you are willing to give up complete control of your operation, and don't mind paying an arm and a leg for that privilege.
Are there negatives to gambling? Sure. That's not the point. Maybe you're against gambling entirely, and believe it has no place in our society. I'm not going to argue. I can't even say for sure that you're wrong. Again, that's not the point. You don't see Ed Schneiderman closing the various casinos and racetracks in New York, do you? Of course not. I'm still able to go out and buy a lottery ticket in New York, aren't I? Absolutely. And do you believe that New York wouldn't welcome FanDuel and DraftKings back in a second, if the state stood to profit? They would. That's the absurdity of all of this.
Gambling doesn't all of a sudden become moral, or good, or fair just because big brother is lining his pockets. If anything, it becomes (more) corrupt. The people of New York don't need to be protected from fantasy sports, they need to be protected from an overbearing government that believes it should have a controlling interest in every aspect of their citizens' lives.
FanDuel and DraftKings aren't fleecing New Yorkers. Their government is. That's why people are leaving the state in record numbers. Of course, no one in Albany has noticed. They're too busy lining their pockets.
