Arkansas Sends Cease And Desist Letters In Sports Betting Crackdown

Last week, Arkansas sent a strong message to daily fantasy sports and traditional sportsbook operators. The Department of Finance (DOF) sent two cease and desist letters to DFS operators accused of offering illegal sports betting. 

The two operators, Underdog Sports and PrizePicks, are both approved to offer DFS in the state, but the DOF says some of their new games cross the line into sports betting. These include player prop bets, which the state defines as sports betting instead of DFS. 

“This issue is about following the law kind of plain and simple," DFA administrator Trent Minner said of the letters. "We have different laws for playing daily fantasy sports operators. We have different laws for casino gaming and sportsbooks."

On top of offering sports betting without a license, both DFS operators use age verification software or pay the established tax rate on their revenue.

“Arkansas law requires sports bets to be placed with a licensed sportsbook that is required to verify the age of the consumer,” DFA Secretary Jim Hudson said. “The state has an interest in protecting Arkansas children from operators seeking to exploit underage Arkansans.”

The letters strongly message other DFS operators that any form of sports betting will not be tolerated. 

PrizePicks and Underdog Finding Similar Trouble Nationwide

Arkansas was not the only state to take issue with PrizePicks and Underdog of late. PrizePicks announced last week that they would pay New York a $15 million fine and cease offering pick ‘em games in the state for a similar violation. Underdog offers similar games in the Empire State, which means they could soon follow.

Speaking of Underdog, they announced they would be exiting Florida after the state gave them an ultimatum to leave or face legal action. PrizePicks and Betr received a similar cease and desist letter.

“If the cessation is completed within that timeframe, the Commission will deem the company and all its officials, directors, and employees to have complied with the demands of the cease-and-desist order, and the Commission will not take further action, including referral to the Office of Statewide Prosecution or to any State Attorney,” the letters read.