Texas Monthly
On Tuesday, beleaguered Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton took a break from tending to the various personal legal fires that he’s dealing with to address one that faces the state. Namely, the question of whether daily fantasy sports sites like DraftKings and FanDuel are actually gambling sites, rather than games of skill—and if so, if they’re illegal under Texas law. And, lo,Paxton’s legal opinion is that they are gambling contests, and thus illegal.
Paxton’s non-binding reasoning hinges on the fact that, since it’s impossible to know who will succeed in a given football game (or other sporting event) because of factors beyond which players are best at the game, daily fantasy sports constitute a game of chance rather than a contest of pure skill.