States allowing daily fantasy sports US 2024

As of March 2024, participation in daily fantasy sports (DFS) in the United States was allowed, to varying degrees, in 45 states. The five states that had yet to allow DFS were Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Washington.

Fantasy sports in the U.S. experienced a watershed moment in October 2006, when the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was passed into U.S. federal law. This statute recognized fantasy sports as a game of skill rather than luck. As a result, fantasy sports were no longer classed by the federal government as a form of gambling. Since then, the market size of the fantasy sports industry in the U.S. has surpassed 10 billion U.S. dollars.

Why are daily fantasy sports banned in some U.S. states?

In contrast to traditional fantasy sports, such as season-long fantasy football, the DFS format allows its players to compete for money and pick new squads on a day-by-day basis. For some state legislative bodies, this has created legal ambiguity as the skill of predicting long-term trends, often associated with traditional fantasy sports, has been seen as lacking in daily fantasy sports. The five states that haven’t yet allowed DFS have not done so because they believe it resembles sports betting more than traditional fantasy sports, which has created conflicts with each state’s strict gambling laws. Regardless of these legal issues, fantasy sports have taken root in the U.S., with around one-in-three adults having engaged in fantasy sports as of 2024.

What are the leading U.S. fantasy sports platforms?

Two of the leading platforms at the forefront of U.S. fantasy sports are DraftKings and FanDuel. Since its founding in 2012, DraftKings’ global assets have grown beyond the multi-billion U.S. dollar mark, and the monthly unique users worldwide of DraftKings exceed two million in 2023. DraftKings and FanDuel also hold the accolade of being among the U.S. fantasy sports companies with the longest average time spent by users per website visit, alongside other fantasy sports platforms such as PrizePicks and Rotowire.

States where playing daily fantasy sports is allowed in the United States as of March 2024

U.S. state	Stance on daily fantasy sports
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Release date

March 2024

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Region

United States

Survey time period

as of March 8, 2024

Supplementary notes

* The source did not have an entry for the state of Arizona, however, the legality of daily fantasy sports in the state is evident on the Arizona Gaming Department's official website.

** The source notes that, in Louisiana, three of its 50 parishes still do not allow for daily fantasy sports (DFS) to be played. As a result, only some DFS companies operate in Louisiana.

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