THUG LIFE SPORTS MAGAZINE

THUG LIFE SPORTS MAGAZINE
AUGUST ISSUE 1
might still get in trouble if you were a player in the game (don’t be a Pete Rose), or if your fantasy league
became a “sports book operation” because it involved more than 5 bets which aggregate to more than
$2,500 and was “organized, commercialized, or systematic gambling.”
Another quagmire is if you have out-of-state friends that play in your league. The interstate nature of the
betting can lead to violating some federal gambling laws which are beyond the scope of this post. Another
problem is if a friend lives in a state that makes fantasy sports betting illegal. For example, both Florida
and Louisiana’s attorneys general have opined that fantasy sports were illegal forms of gambling under
their respective states’ laws. Fla. Att’y Gen. Op. No. 91-3 (Jan. 8, 1991), available at 1991 WL 528146;
La. Att’y Gen. Op. No. 91-14 (1990‒1991), available at 1991 WL 575105.
Those caveats aside, if you and your 11 buddies each throw in $100, and there is only the $1,200 in the
pot, and no one other than the 12 team owners can win the money, you are probably making a social bet
and can tell your wife (or husband) that Maurice Jones-Drew is going to lead you to the promised land of
fantasy victory, and the long arm of the law can’t touch you.
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