As expected, fantasy sports businesses are fighting back against the New York state attorney general’s determination that DraftKings and FanDuel are actually illegal gambling sites and should not be allowed to operate in the state. This morning, both DraftKings and FanDuel asked the court to overturn that decision. [More]
gambling
The Law That Allows DraftKings & FanDuel To Exist May Be The One That Comes Back To Bite Them
By 11.12.15
Earlier this week, the New York state attorney general’s office directed FanDuel and DraftKings to cease operating in the state after investigators concluded that these sites constitute a form of illegal gambling. The sites have vowed to fight this order, which would wipe out around 10% of their existing customer base, but the federal law that has allowed fantasy sports to exist may be the one that hurts them. [More]
New York Tells DraftKings & FanDuel To Cease Operations In The State
By 11.10.15
Almost a month after Nevada declared that daily fantasy sports sites like DraftKings and FanDuel are unlicensed gambling operations and barred them from operating in the state, New York appears to have come to a similar conclusion. [More]
Nevada Says DraftKings & FanDuel Are Unlicensed Gambling, Bars Them From Operating In State
By 10.16.15
The same day that news broke of an ongoing FBI investigation into the legality of online daily fantasy sports sites like DraftKings and FanDuel, Nevada gaming regulators declared that these sites are unlicensed gambling businesses and barred them from operating in the state. [More]
State Of Indiana Does Not Think Senior Center Card Games Are Secret Gambling Den
By 7.20.15
Last week, the Indiana Gaming Commission contacted a senior center in Muncie to let them know that a popular activity, thrice-weekly games of euchre (a four-player card game) was possibly breaking the state’s gambling law. The seniors shut down their game, not wanting to run afoul of gambling regulations. When the story hit local news, the state government clarified that this type of card game was not really what they had in mind for a crackdown on informal gambling venues. [More]
It’s Getting Harder To Win The Powerball Jackpot — But Smaller Rewards May Be Within Reach
By 7.7.15
If you’ve been basing your lottery dreams on the same Powerball odds that have been in place, you better prepare for an adjustment in your sleep-time calculations: The folks behind the curtain are changing the rules, making it tougher to win the Powerball jackpot. [More]
Gamblers Who Won $1.5M Must Return Winnings Over Unshuffled Cards
By 2.13.15
Back in 2012, some gamblers in Atlantic City realized there was a pattern to the way the cards were coming out while playing mini-baccarat and won 41 straight hands worth around $1.5 million in total. But this week a court ruled the winnings must be returned because the cards had not been shuffled. [More]
$14M Slots Jackpot Win Is All Going To Charity, Says Awesome Human Being
By 12.1.14
A fountain of liquid cheddar, burbling in a green and gold garden, wherein Aaron Rodgers awaits, ready with all the fondue fixings a heart could desire and the collector’s edition of Pride and Prejudice starring Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy all cued up and ready to go — that’s what I’d go for if I had $14 million. But alas, I am not the lucky gambler in Las Vegas who spent $20 and won a slot machine jackpot. Nope, he’s giving all his newly-won loot to charity. [More]
Casino E-Mails Problem Gamblers Who Specifically Asked To Be Left Alone
By 11.11.14
If you have a gambling problem, you can do something drastic but ultimately helpful: you can put yourself on a “self-exclusion” list that means you no longer receive e-mails or promotions from gambling companies. You can self-exclude from both real-life casinos and their online counterparts, so you won’t be allowed to play. The problem comes when something goes wrong, and those customers receive an e-mail blast. [More]
Gambler Sues Casino After He Loses $500,000 In One Night
By 3.6.14
Imagine waking up on Super Bowl Sunday in Las Vegas and finding out that you had lost $500,000 playing blackjack and pai gow the night before. Making matters worse, some of that money you lost was borrowed from the casino, which would now like to discuss repayment. [More]
Here Is A Guaranteed Strategy To Win The Lottery
By 2.20.14
There was only one winner of the $425 million Powerball drawing this week, and the ticket was sold at a gas station in California’s Bay Area. As you spend that money in your head, as we inevitably all do, you might wonder how you could win the lottery. You don’t need luck. Here’s a guaranteed winning strategy. [More]
Sick Of Husband’s Gambling, Wife Alerts Authorities To $600K Super Bowl Pools At Local Bar
By 12.23.13
All around the country, local bars operate betting pools where patrons pay a set fee to buy a shot at taking home everyone else’s cash. At lots of bars, the price for a box is reasonable, but some pools charge thousands of dollars to check off a single box. These pools often go ignored by police and other authorities, but after the wife of a Staten Island gambler complained to the state about the large sums being wagered at a local bar, that establishment is no longer accepting bets. [More]
Would-Be Armed Robbers Learn Not To Mess With Bingo Players
By 9.17.13
When you think about it, the combination of volunteer labor and piles of cash means that It’s kind of surprising bingo games don’t get robbed more often. A game at a New Hampshire church was going normally when two men entered the office and pointed a gun at the volunteers. He asked them to fill it with cash. [More]
Casino’s “You Can’t Lose” Refund Promotion Is Really Just Meant To Keep You Gambling
By 7.22.13
The casino always wins in the end. If it didn’t, we’d all be rich and casino-owners would be smashing open piggy banks to pay the bills. So when a house of gambling tells customers that it really wants to do something nice and will refund their slot-machine losses, you should expect that there is more to the offer than meets the eye. [More]
The Bells & Whistles On Casino Slot Machines Don’t Mean You’re Actually Winning Anything
By 7.8.13
The screen is flashing and blinking as brightly colored whozits and whatzits galore stream across the screen, all while dings, beeps, kachings and other exciting noises blare out at you from the casino slot machine. With all that hullabaloo, you must be winning, right? Well, no. Not really. [More]
Nevada Becomes First State To Debut Online Gambling
By 4.30.13
Nevada has long been the mecca of gambling, with its casinos filled to the brim with blinking games, whirring roulette wheels and the shuffling noises of thousands of decks of cards. But who needs all that noise now that you can gamble online legally in the state? It’s the first state to open its virtual doors to legal gamblers, starting today. [More]
Ask Tax Dad: Should I Hire A Tax Preparer? What If I Win The Lottery?
By 2.28.13 — Updated: 3.6.13
Usually, our staff Certified Tax Cat handles questions about taxes, but he got into some really bad ‘nip and is taking the year off. Filling in for him is Laura’s dad, a retired accountant and real live independent tax preparer. Exclusively on Consumerist, Tax Dad answers your questions. [More]
NJ Lottery: Gambling Addiction Is Not A Merry Holiday Gift For Your Child
By 12.10.12
Sure, you can’t take your favorite 10-year-old niece with you to your favorite casino to feed electronic quarters into a dazzling slot machine until her eyes glaze over and she enters a gambling-induced trance. That’s generally illegal. What’s perfectly legal, though, is buying her a nice pile of instant lottery tickets to play. You have to be 18 years old to buy scratchers, but not to play them. Which is why the New Jersey State Lottery and the state Council on Compulsive Gambling put out a statement this week warning that giving lottery tickets to kids might just win them a lifetime of gambling addiction. [More]
