Daily Fantasy Sports Customers File Class-Action Lawsuit in Florida

The embattled daily fantasy sports industry had another shot fired across its bow Saturday as two Florida-based men filed a major class-action lawsuit.

According to Michael McCann of SI.com, daily fantasy sports customers Antonio Gomez and John Gerecs filed the suit against roughly 50 entities with ties to DFS, including DraftKings and FanDuel.

Rachel Axon of USA Today later confirmed the report.

The following is a listing of the defendants in the case, as provided by McCann:

Defendant	Note
NBA	Professional Sports League
MLB	Professional Sports League
NHL	Professional Sports League
MLS	Professional Sports League
Kraft Group	Owned by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft
Legends Hospitality	Owned by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and New York Yankees
MSG Sports and Entertainment	Owned by New York Knicks owner James Dolan
Turner Sports	Media
Time Warner	Media
NBC Sports Comcast	Media
21st Century Fox	Media
Fox Sports Interactive Media	Media
Visa	Credit Card Company
Mastercard	Credit Card Company
American Express	Credit Card Company
J.P. Morgan	Banking Company
Capital One Bank	Banking Company
Google Capital	Banking Company
Scottish Investment Bank	Banking Company
PayPal	Payment Processor
Paysafe	Payment Processor
Vantiv	Payment Processor
DraftKings	Daily Fantasy Provider
FanDuel	Daily Fantasy Provider
Jason Robins	DraftKings CEO

According to McCann, the trio of Gomez, Gerecs and attorney Ervin Gonzalez have accused both DraftKings and FanDuel of promoting illegal gambling. They also believe that companies who have invested in or become involved with daily fantasy sports have helped facilitate illegal activities.

Because of that, Gomez and Gerecs are seeking damages, and many other DFS players could be in line to receive damages as well due to the class-action nature of the suit.

Daily fantasy sports first came under fire in October when DraftKings employee Ethan Haskell won $350,000 in a FanDuel contest, which led to questions regarding whether he had an unfair advantage.

More trouble followed for DFS when New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman ruled that daily fantasy sports now fall under the umbrella of illegal gambling in New York, per ESPN.com's David Purdum and Darren Rovell:

"

Our investigation has found that, unlike traditional fantasy sports, daily fantasy sports companies are engaged in illegal gambling under New York law, causing the same kinds of social and economic harms as other forms of illegal gambling and misleading New York consumers. Daily fantasy sports is neither victimless nor harmless, and it is clear that DraftKings and FanDuel are the leaders of a massive, multi-billion-dollar scheme intended to evade the law and fleece sports fans across the country. Today we have sent a clear message: not in New York and not on my watch.

"

Gonzalez has taken things a step further, according to McCann, by accusing DraftKings and FanDuel of being ringleaders in a mafia-style racketeering ring that saw investors add legitimacy to daily fantasy sports with their financial contributions.

Despite the myriad claims being levied against DraftKings and FanDuel, they continue to operate, and they even filed a lawsuit to prevent getting frozen out in New York, per Curt Woodward and Dan Adams of the Boston Globe.

While it is entirely possible that daily fantasy sports companies will continue to thrive despite the amount of opposition they are facing, they may have to do so under more stringent rules.

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey recently introduced a bill that would force DFS companies to not accept customers under the age of 21. It would also eliminate college sports, push for more truthful advertising and prohibit professional athletes from engaging in DFS within their own sports.

Editor’s note: Turner Sports is the parent company to Bleacher Report. DraftKings has a working relationship with Bleacher Report. This piece was pursued and executed independent of that business relationship. 

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.