Towards the end of September, the PGA Tour banned its players from playing or endorsing daily fantasy sports (DFS), reports Pete Madden in Golf.com.
The Tour sent a memo to players dated September 24:
“fantasy gaming websites that pay out money in exchange for an entry fee, as well as other wagering websites and apps, are considered illegal in many states. Therefore, the PGA Tour will regard any player participation in these games as conduct unbecoming of a professional.”
Daily fantasy sports have been under attack since it was revealed a DraftKings employee leaked information early the same week he won $350,000 by placing 2nd in a FanDuel millionaire contest. In October, Nevada began requiring a gaming license for DraftKings and FanDuel to operate in the state. The New York Attorney General ordered the DFS giants to stop accepting money from NY residents. New Jersey and other states probably won’t be far behind in enacting legislation as well.
Even a professional football player, and former paid endorser, filed a class action suit against FanDuel for unlicensed usage of his name and likeness.
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FanDuel doesn’t offer golf contests, but DraftKings has offered several million dollar contests for fantasy golf dating back to 2014. DK co-founder Matt Kalish told Golf Digest this past August:
“The idea of doing the Millionaire Maker for the Masters was a very aggressive move for us. We thought it wasn’t going to fill all the way, but it filled early Wednesday before the Masters. It was out of room.”
“It’s phenomenal how much golf has grown over the summer. Nothing’s growing faster than golf. We’re double where we were before the Masters.”
The Tiger Woods Foundation announced DraftKings as the “Official Daily Fantasy Sports Partner” of the Quicken Loans National and Deutsche Bank Championship last March. The PGA Tour has drawn a distinction between a tournament sponsor and a player sponsorship, however. The Tour has said they have no plans to review the DraftKings deal since it is a “hospitality sponsorship”. The fact DK will not have any signs on the course or logos on player apparel or golf bags makes it a non-issue in the Tour’s opinion.
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