Fans of fantasy sports leagues may be looking at a huge crisis in the industry. The industry’s future is in the New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s hands. This ongoing issue has been covered by many news corporations, and it has raised controversy since the issue has grabbed the public’s attention. In a N.Y. Times article written by Walt Bogdanich, Joe Drape, and Jacqueline Willamsnov, the Attorney General released a statement that targeted DraftKings and FanDuel. In his statement, Mr. Schneiderman states, “It is clear that DraftKings and FanDuel are the leaders of a massive, multibillion-dollar scheme intended to evade the law and fleece sports fans across the country.” According to the Times article, Mr. Schneiderman also said, “Today we have sent a clear message: not in New York, and not on my watch.” It is clear that the Attorney General believes he has New York State’s best interest in mind, but not everyone agrees with his decision.

According to CNBC, “Fantasy sports are big business, with billions of dollars wagered every year. But there is a thin line between legal -skilled based gaming and illegal gambling. The words “gamble” and “gambling” are generally used to discuss an activity that may run afoul of applicable criminal laws. Gambling, in general, can become a criminal activity, but fantasy sports are not considered a gambling issue because the players are actual sports fans. The sports industry has many different aspects to it and fantasy sports are a large part of it. Another important thing to understand about this part of the sports industry is the ideology of backup withholding tax. According to irs.gov, a backup withholding tax is, “An IRS procedure designed to ensure that a taxpayer who does not have a Social Security number or tax identification number will still have taxes withheld on his/her income.” This very serious legal issue and the fantasy sports industry intend to uphold it. In fact, FanDuel says, “By depositing money or entering a contest, you are representing and warranting that you are not subject to backup withholding tax.” This action disproves the Attorney General’s allegation towards the fantasy sports industry because it clearly shows that they are abiding by the law.

There are over 500,000 daily users of the fantasy sports league, so it is only right that these organizations not back down. The DraftKings organization sent out an email to all their users, saying, “Schneiderman is considering preventing New Yorkers from playing daily fantasy sports.” A spokeswoman from the DraftKings organization also releases a statement that targeted the Attorney General’s actions. Sabrina Macias stated the following, “We are disappointed he has hasn’t taken the time to meet with us or ask us any questions about our business model before his opinion.” On Friday, November 13, 2015, the fantasy giants FanDuel and DraftKings fired back at the Attorney General by filing petitions. According to ESPN, the two companies took turns at attacking him for his allegations.

In their petition DraftKings called Schneiderman's actions to cease taking business from customers in New York a "shocking overreach." DraftKings is a legitimate industry that provided their customers with satisfaction and in their petition they state that, “He has unleashed an irresponsible, irrational and illegal campaign to destroy a legitimate industry." This may cause confusion to the general public because now there isn’t a clear understanding of where the Attorney General stands on the issue. One person who is a daily user of these fantasy sport corporations is William A. Carey, Jr. and he has a strong opinion on the issue. Mr. Carey is a high school coach at Academy of American Studies, and he does not like the action that Schneiderman is taking because he says, “I feel that the Attorney General is overstepping his boundaries. I understand the need for them to step in due to their lack of knowledge; however, due to the fact that the outcome of the game plays no major role in the playing of the game, it should not be deemed illegal gambling.” Carey, Jr. makes an interesting statement by saying, “I feel that they are stepping in, in order to begin the process of making money for the State through taxation. The only reason I would want the state to step in is to control the rules and regulation.” Like many others, this fantasy player believes that the government should stay out of issues like this one. As matter of fact, he stated, “I would try to fight against the system, first of all because I like the games itself and believe that it is wholesome fun that isn't like gambling, and also because the government shouldn't be able to step in with things they do not understand.”

Another person who has taken a stance against the Attorney General’s action is David Hage. Mr. Hage does not have experience with fantasy sport games, but his opinion is very important because he is a former journalist who used to work for Independent Magazine, which is a small magazine company in Luzerne County, P.A. David Hage says, “I do believe that the Attorney State General is abusing his power. If there is no victim, then there is no crime in my opinion. In a world with so many violent people who commit atrocities against fellow American citizen's wasting time on fantasy sports is a foolish use of time and resources.” There is no harm in this part of the sports industry because players don’t cause harm and the government should focus on bigger issues. That is exactly what Hage talked about when he made the following statement: “The attorney general continues the trend of overreaching his power, as does the majority of those in power within the Federal government. A constitutional republic such as ours seeks to limit the power of government representatives. Fantasy football companies should be allowed to operate in peace. They should pay their taxes and be left alone.” He also stated, “The Attorney General should back off. It is not the role of the government to pick winners and losers. If society wants to gamble in fantasy sports, let them…. It is none of the government’s business what private citizens do, as long as it doesn’t hurt others.”

To put it in the government point of view, a retired high school U.S history teacher decided to add his take on the issue. Steven Karp states that, “The Attorney General, Schneiderman, has the burden of proving that laws were broken. The sports fantasy companies have proven they are doing everything legally and that no one working for them had access to making picks.” Mr.Karp has a different view on whether or not gambling is harmless because he looks at the issue from a different angle. Mr.Karp says, “People say gambling is a victimless crime, meaning the only one harm is the player…But gambling is big money. If people are cheating, then that’s money that is being taken from people that are playing fairly.” Even though he said that, he has an interesting comment, “I don’t think this is the most important thing Mr. Schneiderman has to worry about, but a very large part of his job is to make sure that companies don’t take advantage of customers.” This is a very complex issue that apparently sparks a lot of concerns for fantasy sports’ players.

New York is a diverse city and when it comes to issues like this one, controversy becomes a strong driving force to keep the media going. In a city like New York, sports are a big deal and fantasy sports is an extension for fans to express their understanding and love for the sports they base their fantasy team around. This is an interesting part of the sports industry and it shouldn’t be shut down because it impacts a large amount of people.