Report: Underdog Fantasy among six operators forced to leave Kansas
The Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission (KRGC) has ordered Underdog Fantasy and five other fantasy sports operators to leave the state over “illegal sports wagering”, according to reports.
Per Legal Sports Report (LSR), KRGC executive director Don Brownlee sent an internal memo last September which called out 10 operators for offering sports betting illegally under the guise of fantasy sports.
In the letter, Brownlee stated that a cease-and-desist letter would be sent to the offending parties, with it appearing Underdog Fantasy was one of those to have illegally operated in the state, according to LSR.
It has been reported that Underdog pulled its offering in Kansas in November but continues to offer peer-to-peer fantasy in the state.
The letter read: “Recently the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission has become aware of several illegal sports wagering operations in Kansas.
“The Illegal operations were calling themselves ‘fantasy’ sports when they were, in reality, accepting wagers on player propositions or pools.
“The acceptance of wagers on player propositions and pools are solely to be offered in Kansas by licensed Kansas Lottery gaming facility managers or their interactive sports wagering platforms.
“After an investigation, we have determined the best course of action is to send a cease-and-desist letter to each offending party.”
Kansas has become the latest state to clamp down on DFS operators and the continued use of pick’em fantasy contests.
Underdog Fantasy was forced to stop offering pick’em-style DFS contests in Maine last October.
The operator rolled out peer-to-peer pick’em games, Pick’em Champions, the month prior in Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Wyoming.
More recently, PrizePicks was forced to pull its games from New York this week following a regulatory change announced last October.