One of the major daily fantasy sports companies in the U.S. is suing the California Attorney General to block a potential opinion on the legality of daily fantasy sports from being released.
Underdog Sports LLC filed a lawsuit in Superior Court of the State of California to prohibit Attorney General Rob Bonta from releasing his opinion on the legality of daily fantasy sports (DFS) in the Golden State.
“Attorney General Bonta should be enjoined from doing so, not because he is wrong in his views on the legality of fantasy sports – though he certainly is – but because by statute, the Attorney General can only issue opinions on questions of law and can only answer questions that relate to the duties of the official requesting the opinion. Neither is true here,” Underdog Sports LLC. counsel Caleb Lin wrote in the lawsuit.
AG Lacks Authority to Issue Opinion
Bonta is expected this week to release a long-awaited opinion on the legality of California’s DFS contests. He is expected to conclude all DFS contests – peer-to-peer, against the house, draft, etc. – are illegal in the Golden State.
California DFS games have operated in gray market for years, unregulated by the government or paying taxes to the state.
According to Underdog’s lawsuit, Bonta lacks the authority to issue an opinion California DFS contests. According to California Government Code, limits are set on the Attorney General’s authority to accept, and issue, requested legal opinions.
“The Attorney General may only answer pure legal questions (‘any question of law’) that ‘relat[e]’ to the office of the requesting official. As the Attorney General himself has recognized, these conditions are not mere suggestions; they are ‘textual limitations on [his] responsibility to issue opinions.’ But they are limits he has disregarded here,” Lin wrote.
The opinion is in response to a 2023 request from Sen. Scott Wilk (R-21), who left the state legislature in 2024. The Attorney General did not issue an opinion in response to his request prior to him leaving the legislature, and his opinion has been pending for more than 18 months.
Through conversations with the Attorney General, Underdog noted that the forthcoming opinion will be broad and find “all daily fantasy sports be illegal under California law.”
“The Attorney General’s office confirmed that after releasing the opinion, the goal would be to use the threat of an enforcement action – under the interpretation of California law that the Attorney General will impermissibly announce in the opinion – to pressure Underdog into agreeing to leave California entirely,” Lin wrote.
Irreparable Harm to Underdog
According to the lawsuit, Underdog has operated in California since 2020 and the state accounts for more than 10% of the company’s annual revenue.
Underdog faces “irreparable harm” if the opinion is released, counsel argues, and since the company only received days’ notice it seeks a timely “ex parte temporary restraining order to preserve the status quo that has persisted in California for decades.”
“Without this Court’s immediate intervention, this unlawful gambit may succeed. Underdog faces imminent irreparable harm – from fleeing customers, risk-averse banks andpayment processors, and the loss of investment and goodwill – if the Attorney General issues the opinion as planned.”
Underdog Files Lawsuit To Prohibit California AG From Releasing DFS Opinion Saturday Down South.
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