The proposed rules define fantasy contests as “Fantasy or simulated games or contests in which one or more fantasy contest players compete and winning outcomes reflect the relative knowledge and skill of the fantasy contest players and are determined predominantly by accumulated statistical results of the performance of individuals, including athletes in the case of sporting events.”
As regulators kicked off the online NC sports betting rulemaking process, they joined the growing number of states looking to prohibit daily fantasy sports pick’em contests that mirror props.
After being created late last month, the North Carolina State Lottery Commission’s Sports Betting Advisory Committee approved its first package of proposed online NC sports betting rules Tuesday.
A public comment period will remain open until November 1, with a public hearing October 27. The quick turnaround comes after a surprise change to the sports betting law last month.
“This keeps us on track to meet the statutory deadline,” said Sterl Carpenter, deputy executive director of gaming compliance and sports betting at the NC Lottery, about the law’s requirement to launch sports betting between January 8 2024, and June 14, 2024.
Among the rules in the first proposed package of sports betting regulations, the NC Lottery outlined what constitutes daily fantasy sports. In the definition, DFS contests “are determined predominantly by accumulated statistical results of the performance of individuals.”
The rule also details five types of contests that are not daily fantasy sports, including those, “based on proposition wagering or contests that involve, result in, or have the effect of mimicking proposition wagering or other forms of sports wagering.”
The Coalition for Fantasy Sports, which represents PrizePicks, Underdog and Sleeper, claims North Carolina legislators promised the pick’em products would be protected when they passed sports betting law this spring:
“The legislature ensured that our contests would continue to be offered as fantasy sports when it passed its sports wagering bill just a few months ago. We are confident that the Lottery Commission will reach common sense rules that reflect the letter and spirit of that bill. We look forward to participating as stakeholders in the rulemaking process, just as we worked alongside with legislators this past session to protect the fantasy sports that North Carolinians have played for years.”
