David Boies opens up to Fortune about what DraftKings will argue at its Nov. 25 hearing.
On the day before Thanksgiving, DraftKings and FanDuel will meet the New York Attorney General in court for a dramatic showdown. And DraftKings outside legal counsel David Boies, in an exclusive interview with Fortune, says he believes the facts are clearly on their side. “We look very strong.”
Two weeks ago, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman ordered DraftKings and FanDuel to stop accepting paid contest entries in the state of New York. It was a major threat to the future of the exploding daily fantasy sports industry, and it led a number of smaller daily fantasy sports operators, who were not sent any letter from Schneiderman, to promptly cease business in New York . The state is the biggest market for the two companies, and DraftKings and FanDuel fought back by filing their own lawsuits against Schneiderman. (He has since added Yahoo , which launched a daily fantasy platform this year, to his inquiry via subpoena.)
On Nov. 25, New York Supreme Court justice Manuel Mendez will adjudicate a one-hour hearing that may prove to be the most pivotal moment in this industry’s early history. Schneiderman, DraftKings, and FanDuel will each have only 20 minutes to present to the judge, but the burden of proof is on Schneiderman to show that DraftKings and FanDuel’s contests are illegal under New York law.
The gambling law in New York is matched in just eight other states: a contest is gambling if the outcome depends on a “material degree” of “the element of chance,” as opposed to skill. DraftKings and FanDuel have always argued their contests are “games of skill,” but Schneiderman doesn’t buy it. The Attorney General did not merely label them gambling operators—as Nevada’s Gaming Control Board […]
