Advertised Incentives for Participation in Daily Fantasy Sports Contests in 2015 and 2016: Legal Classification and Consumer Implications

Entertainment and Sports Law Journal, 15: 4, pp. 1–13, 2017 DOI/10.16997/eslj.207

13 Pages Posted: 5 Oct 2017

See all articles by John T. Holden

John T. Holden

Oklahoma State University

Simon Brandon-Lai

State University of New York (SUNY), Cortland

Date Written: October 4, 2017

Abstract

During the summer of 2015, daily fantasy sports (DFS) advertising in the United States became ubiquitous, with DraftKings and FanDuel embarking on an aggressive advertising campaign. One year later, those commercials all but disappeared from television and radio. In the United States, DFS operators and the industry trade association have argued that fantasy games are legally distinct from prohibited forms of sports gambling; however, several state legislators have concluded differently. In this empirical examination, we examined the advertised incentives across the first two weeks of the National Football League (NFL) season in 2015 and 2016. In order to assess whether the arguments made by industry groups that DFS is distinct from gambling is conveyed in the messages being sent to consumers by the two major DFS companies, we conducted a qualitative directed content analysis. We observed that the 2015 commercials focused on the ease of play, and DFS players’ ability to win money; whereas the 2016 commercials placed a greater emphasis on intrinsic themes. The implications of this study are meaningful because they suggest that as the regulatory framework surrounding DFS in the United States has become more certain, the major DFS companies have made a change in their advertising messaging while not fundamentally altering their most played products.

Keywords: Daily Fantasy Sports, Gambling, Content Analysis, Gaming, Fantasy Sports

JEL Classification: K0, K00, K11, K14, K19, K22, K23, K3, K4, K40, K42, K49, L83 O3, O30, O33, O38

Suggested Citation

Holden, John and Brandon-Lai, Simon, Advertised Incentives for Participation in Daily Fantasy Sports Contests in 2015 and 2016: Legal Classification and Consumer Implications (October 4, 2017). Entertainment and Sports Law Journal, 15: 4, pp. 1–13, 2017 DOI/10.16997/eslj.207, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3047897

John Holden (Contact Author)

Oklahoma State University ( email )

464 Business Building
Stillwater, OK 74078-0555
United States

Simon Brandon-Lai

State University of New York (SUNY), Cortland ( email )

22 Graham Ave
Cortland, NY 13045
United States

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