Draft Kings, Fan Duel and Fantasy Football--What do you think?

[Mainefan]

I'm interested to know what Patsfans members think of these sites and activities. Personally, I find them all a kind of pollution of the sport. I resent the attention they're being given. I find the advertising obnoxious and misleading. I don't think they deserve any attention from game commentators, and I dislike the attention they're getting on the NFL channel. I don't think they have anything to do with football, except as a parasitical entity. The constant advertising diminishes my enjoyment of the game. Am I being some kind of prude or prig or are my comments just? What do all of you think?

 

[Adam Seward]

Next, your thoughts on Planned Parenthood?

I like to play and win money, the ads suck pondwater.

 

[Fixit]

 

[Patriot Missile]

Fantasy leagues are as far as I will go because the odds are better.

I hate both, like you the advertising is infuriating and I feel it is because they know their time is limited and they want as much money as possible before other entities get a piece of the pie.

Another issue the jackass coward Goodell won't address publicly.

 

[Galeb]

 

[Dagg]

I have been playing Fantasy Football since pen and paper, long before it was mainstream. I guess I am old school but I never played fan duel or draft kings. To me the fun is building a team and managing it all season and making the right decisions who to play who to sit, trying to figure out what 2 string guy may overtake the starter etc. Plus the members of my league have all been in for a long time so bragging rights is a big part of it vs playing in a random league.

Personally the Draft King and fanduel stuff is closer to gambling than what I deem "real" fantasy football. I like gambling as well in moderation but it just doesnt appeal to me. I can see why people play it and I certainly have nothing against it just personal taste.

I do agree the constant advertising is way overboard.

 

[patsinthesnow]

Dave Gomes can GFY.

 

[MitchKumstein]

It pissed me off that its legal to gamble on these fantasy sites but it's not legal to play online poker for money

Seeing as there are NFL owners (including our own Kraft) with vested interest in these sites, obviously the NFL is throwing their money around to once again get their way

 

[woolster22]

The advertising and misleading "match your deposit up to $200," are a bit much. I always toy with throwing a few bucks into one of those sites but have yet to pull the trigger. I do play in a few standard leagues each year.

As a side note, Massachusetts is contemplating establishing their own state run version of fanduels/draftking (was on the news last week I believe?). This I am wholeheartedly against. Then what, Millionaire Matchmaker*

*Winner has the option to receive payments of 50k/year for twenty years, or a lump sum payment of 660k. All of which are subject to taxes.

I'm sure this would simply turn into another state run money grab with prizes diminishing and fees and entry rates diminishing. No more private leagues, etc.

 

[XLIX]

I think it is a despicable hypocrisy how the leagues and networks are in bed with these sites, which are clearly legalized gambling (and yes, that includes The Kraft Group) but then the same league does everything it can to keep gambling on games illegal.

 

[Marinlik]

Just allow gambling so we don't have to do this dance around stuff that "are totally not gambling" but have every trait of gambling, because it is gambling.

 

[MitchKumstein]

I think it is a despicable hypocrisy how the leagues and networks are in bed with these sites, which are clearly legalized gambling (and yes, that includes The Kraft Group) but then the same league does everything it can to keep gambling on games illegal.

I agree, it really is a screwed up relationship. Couldn't there also be concerns of conflict of interest issues? I have no idea how these sites work or how they make money, but if the sites can make more money if Gronk scores 3 TDS in a game, what's to stop Kraft from making a call to Belichick and asking to adjust the play calling a little?

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Most of the contestants have no idea how heavily stacked the odds are against them.

 

[IcyPatriot]

I pick some $3 game and fill out a lineup in less than 5 minutes.

The only way I have a chance to win .... luck.

There must be many losing a ton of money on it ........

 

[Adam Seward]

if Gronk scores 3 TDS in a game, what's to stop Kraft from making a call to Belichick and asking to adjust the play calling a little?

Once the money is paid in, the outcome is irrelevant. Fanduels profit is a percentage of the entry fees for facilitation of wagering, not the outcome of games.

 

[Observer]

Nothing is as bad for the league as the league itself. My big concern is that this corrupt enterprise is becoming a financial Godzilla with too much power.

 

[oldrover]

Congress is starting to sniff around these sites.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/sports/congress-examine-fantasy-football-pay-sites-n427291

They either smell the money and want some, or smell the money and can't stand the stench, or think it's just gambling all tarted up in a purdy dress. None of that will be good for the sites, or the league, IMHO.

 

[102 Pat]

I've been doing Fantasy and Pro-Line (a service offered here in Canada) for many years now and I just started up Draft Kings a few weeks ago. I often do two $5 Pro-Line bets with the chance to win $150-ish dollars. Throw in another $5 on DK and it's a chance to make a few bucks. If you don't like this stuff, don't do it.

And how are the ads any different than the ads we get flooded with during and in-game?

The fact that the FBI have begun to investigate DK and FanDuel is ridiculous, there are more pressing matters than sports gambling...

 

[Fixit]

The fact that the FBI have begun to investigate DK and FanDuel is ridiculous, there are more pressing matters than sports gambling...

The FBI has recently been making a push to begin investigating more than one thing at a time, I guess.

 

[Zeus]

I am a conscientious objector when it comes to fantasy sports. With football in particular, I enjoy the sport itself far too much. The fantasy aspect is a distraction and I really don't care to even watch games with people who are concerned about who scored a TD with 30 seconds left to close out a 49-17 game.

Having said that, I understand why a league involving a group of friends could be fun. My sons do this, with the results being many hilarious, outrageous, over-the-top arguments. They are highly entertained; good for them.

The big thing is that friends or coworkers having a league is a zero-sum game. All the money stays with the participants.

With Fan Duel and Draft Kings, the money goes not only to prizes, but also must cover operating costs (that much advertising is not cheap) and what most assuredly must be HUGE profit margins. It's pretty well documented already that the so-called sharks know how to tilt the odds in their favor while the casual and/or naïve players pay the freight. As I've said before, the business model is largely designed to separate teenagers from the money they made after school at McDonalds. In my opinion, it's cynical and greedy.

The NFL's involvement in this is nothing short of a disgrace. The league itself lobbied for the fantasy sports carve-out in an internet gambling bill to pave the way for fantasy sports to be legally regarded as a game of skill and therefore not gambling.

The NFL has long had an uneasy relationship with the gambling community, fearing the risk of corruption where gambling and sports coexist, but also recognizing that gambling and television were the drivers of the league's spectacular growth. Where the NFL cannot have any legitimate investment (legalized gambling), their attitude is holier-than-thou disdain and zero tolerance. When it comes to fantasy football where the owners can take a direct financial interest, it's every man for himself and anything goes. It reeks of hypocrisy and the unquenchable greed of the Billionaire's Boys Club.