Attorney Sues Media Giants Over Pay-For-Play Fantasy Sports

Chuck Humphrey, a Colorado attorney, is suing several media networks, including ESPN and CBS, for running pay-for-play fantasy sports leagues. The lawyer claims these leagues are gambling because they award prizes to the winners. At the heart of the matter is the issue whether fantasy sports are games of skill or chance.

Some in the poker community speculate that this lawsuit is partially in response to the recent House bill that would ban online gambling, but make an exception for fantasy sports leagues. The case could be made that playing fantasy football has a skill factor very similar to online poker:

1. Both are games of relative skill played against other people. If one's opponent barely knows how to play poker or barely follows the sport, then a good player will have a decisive advantage. However, if people are equal skill, it becomes more of a game of luck.

2. Both have a significant luck factor since players don't control the outcome of events. A person has zero control over what cards come or how an athlete performs during a given day.

More information about this story can be found here. Chuck Humphrey's website can be found here.

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