Life just keeps getting harder for daily fantasy sports (DFS) operators who offer player props in their portfolio of services. Late last week, Arkansas became the latest state to crack down on the popular, but mostly not legal, player props when its Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) sent cease and desist orders to Underdog Fantasy and PrizePicks.
According to the DFA, those player props are a clear violation of Amendment 100 to the Arkansas Constitution, which governs fantasy sports. That amendment allows operators to offer traditional DFS games, in which players pick a whole slate of players to make up a team and go head-to-head with another player. The DFA, however, is taking a strong stand against player props, which involve as few as two player picks based on an individual athlete’s performance.
Many DFS offer player props that veer way more towards a standard parlay than standard fantasy sports but state governments have shown that they are eager to shut that loophole down. In a statement to the press, DFA Regulatory Administrator Trent Minner explained his agency’s actions saying, “Back in the day, places that tolerated illegal gambling were referred to as ‘wide open,’. The Internet is today’s equivalent of a ‘wide open town’ where unlicensed gambling thrives outside of the taxation and age-verification requirements required by the law. As the state’s regulator of licensed sports betting, DFA is putting these companies on notice that Arkansas is not ‘wide open.’”
As of 2022, when Arkansas approved regulated sports betting, the state has been open to three regulated operators. Judging by the tone of Minner’s comments, they’re looking to keep it that way for the foreseeable future.