Mark Cuban took aim at politicians around the country Wednesday, calling them hypocrites and "absolutely wrong" for their attempts to shut down daily fantasy sports sites in mutiple states.
The Mavericks billionaire owner gave the keynote address at the winter meeting of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association in Dallas, according to USA TODAY, and ranted about legislators' attempts to regulate the industry.
“Seeing politicians just do something for skins on the wall, to try to make a name for themselves, that pisses me off, as much as anything,” Cuban said. “That’s one of the reasons I’m here right now supporting you, because it’s wrong. It’s absolutely wrong. And if this leads the charge to really define what gambling really is, without nuanced definitions depending on what state you’re in and who’s reading it, that’s a good thing. If this leads to gambling being legalized and brought above ground, that’s a good thing.”
Cuban, who has invested and partnered with Fantasy Labs, a company that crunches fantasy data, compared DFS to owning a team and claimed the stock market is more akin to gambling than selecting a lineup every night with the intention of winning money.
“It’s the ultimate in hypocrisy,” he said. “Literally picking a (daily fantasy) lineup is an analogous as you can get to owning a team without owning a team. Gambling in the stock market is Gambling 101 right now because you have absolutely no clue why things are happening or what’s going to happen or whether or not it’s even safe.”
New York, Nevada, and most recently Texas, are among the states that have either successfully shut down daily fantasy sports sites or have attempted to do so under the grounds that they constitute illegal gambling establishments. Arizona, Iowa, Louisiana, and Washington outlaw all forms of DFS. Proponents claim that it is a game of skill, rather than chance, and therefore perfectly legal.
Cuban called on the roughly 400 people in attendance to rally with other like-minded individuals and prevent their local politicians from interfering in the reported multi-billion dollar a year business.
“You need to mobilize your fans,” Cuban said. “You need to tell them that even regular (season-long) fantasy is at risk. It really is, because if they (politicians) get on a roll or think they’re on roll, then they’re going to find some other way. Even though their focus is (daily fantasy) right now, there’s nothing to going to say the stupidity of the politician won’t travel over to fantasy sports because his nephew or niece plays too many hours and got a C in spelling. That’s the logic sometimes.”
Send all complaints, compliments, and tips to sportstips@complex.com
