Nevada Gaming Commission Approves First DFS-style License

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Friday, July 8th, 2016 | Written by Lucy Brown

At the end of last month, USFantasy Sports made history after the betting site became the first company in the United States to be given a formal daily fantasy sports license. The Nevada Gaming Commission approved the site’s application on June 23, 2016, under the provisions of their gaming laws that classify daily fantasy sports betting as a form of gambling.

About USFantasy Sports

While USFantasy Sports has been granted a daily fantasy sports betting license, people who are used to placing bets at sites like FanDuel and DraftKings will find that the set-up at the website is different than the conventional daily fantasy sports betting structure they are accustomed to playing. In fact, the site uses a pari-mutuel-style structure that is similar to horse racing. Here’s how it works using football as an example:

1: Bettors base their bet on a specific position, such as the quarterback.

2: Bettors are given a pool of players who play that position and then can decide whether they will win, place or show just like race horses.

3: During NFL games, bettors receive fantasy sports points on a certain scale for their position. As an example, a quarterback would get five fantasy points for scoring a touchdown.

4: Bettors can place horse-racing style bets on players, including:

– Exactas, where bettors pick which two players will perform the best
– Trifectas, where bettors pick which three players will perform the best
– Daily Doubles, where bettors pick a player from two different contests

5: Wagers are placed into a pari-mutuel pool. After the performance of the players has been calculated, the winnings are distributed among the winners with amounts varying based on how much has been wagered. Contests with more competition due to heavy betting will pay out more.

$1M Progressive Jackpot

The NFL will also have a $1 million progressive jackpot available to play for every week. Bettors who successfully win all seven of the contests featured on the site will subsequently win the $1 million prize.

At USFantasy Sports, bettors will be able to wager on:

– NFL football
– MLB baseball
– NBA basketball
– NHL hockey
– NASCAR
– PGA Tour

The Future of USFantasy Sports

An important point to note, however, is that USFantasy Sports is a business to business (B2B) operator that allows other companies to use their technology in order to operate their own sites, and offer daily fantasy sports betting to consumers. The product has been made available to the 79 casinos that are currently part of the Nevada Pari-Mutuel Association through a subscription service.

According to a statement released by USFantasy concerning its Nevada license, the company’s marketing director Tom Willer said that “casinos will subscribe to the USFantasy platform through a licensed disseminator, which will distribute the contests to race and sports books within Nevada casinos.” Elaborating further, Willer then explained:

“It’s a no-lose proposition for the books. It’s like we’re offering a new track. Think of it as ‘Fantasy Downs.’ The casinos will receive a percentage of all wagers that are gambled.”

Prospects of Success

While the setup is likely to interest many of the member casinos, it will take some time for USFantasy Sports to have business relationships solidified, and sites launched. The company does intend to start approaching potential casino partners in the coming weeks and months, but there is no definite timeline for when prospective bettors can expect to be able to participate in contests online.

With Colorado, Missouri, Indiana, Virginia, Tennessee, Mississippi and potentially New York planning to issue daily fantasy sports betting licenses in the near future, it’s likely that USFantasy Sports may begin providing services to casinos in other states soon as well. As USFantasy president Vic Salerno commented in a recent press release:

“We are actively working with the legislative and regulatory bodies of several states to propose the adoption of the USFantasy platform as a turn-key way to regulate, provide tax revenue, and offer a fair platform for fantasy sports through casinos, racetracks, and lotteries where legal.”

Worth Up To $14BN by 2020

According to a report produced by Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, the daily fantasy sports market could be worth up to $14 billion by 2020. However, that figure represents a best-case scenario in which a growing number of US states are successful in passing regulatory bills, with a less positive scenario involving a dip in the market placing that figure as low as $3 billion by 2020.