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Here's a good first step with the right person in charge of this:

http://www.legalsportsreport.com/5626/f ... ign=buffer

The fantasy sports industry is launching the Fantasy Sports Control Agency to start third-party oversight and regulation of the industry.

The formation of the organization was detailed in an email to members of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, and was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Here is the email, in full:

FSTA Members,

We are at a pivotal moment in the history of fantasy sports. For our paid contest operators, the necessity for some form of regulation is upon us. Our players and government authorities alike are likely to insist that our industry has mechanisms in place that ensure strict and effective regulatory oversight.

We can establish and enforce these systems ourselves, or we can put our industry in the hands of outside entities who do not understand the industry as we do – outside entities who are not as able nor as committed to establishing rules and regulations that ensure integrity and transparency while allowing the industry to continue to thrive.

Simply put, the leadership of the FSTA believes that we cannot and should not allow the future of our industry to rest in the hands of others.

To that end, I’m very pleased to announce the creation of the Fantasy Sports Control Agency (FSCA), a group formed by the Fantasy Sports Trade Association for the purpose of bringing enhanced transparency, ethics and integrity to the industry.

The FSCA will provide mandatory guidelines in four key areas:

Standards
Company Controls, Processes and Leadership
Auditing Policies and Procedures
Enforcement

I’m also pleased to announce that the Chairman of the FSCA is Seth D. Harris, the Former Acting U.S. Secretary of Labor for the Obama Administration. At the U.S. Labor Department, Secretary Harris spent five years overseeing the work of a half-dozen civil regulatory and enforcement agencies addressing complex legal and ethical issues, and working with a wide array of stakeholders. His goal at the Labor Department was compliance with the law. At the FSCA, his goals will be honesty, integrity, and fairness in all fantasy sports games.

The FSCA will be an independent authority, beholden to no company within the FSTA nor the FSTA itself – providing the framework necessary to provide clear, operable direction to our paid contest operators. Many details will be ironed out in the coming weeks and months, and I will keep you informed each step of the way.

Secretary Harris and FSTA Board member Rob Pythian have already met with industry stakeholders, who have been supportive of our initial plans.

We will be announcing Secretary Harris’ appointment and the creation of the FSCA shortly via a national press release, and we will have the opportunity to reinforce our plans at the Sports Business Journal Sports Media & Technology conference in New York tomorrow.

This is a decisive first step in our industry’s path toward meaningful self-regulation. Thank you for your ongoing support for the FSTA and your future support of the FSCA.

Paul Charchian
President, FSTA
How effective will self regulation be?

The WSJ noted that “an announcement could come later this week” formally introducing the FSCA.

The effort comes as several different federal and state investigations are being conducted into the legality of daily fantasy sports, and as several states consider how to deal with DFS through new legislation or gaming laws already on the books.

The FSCA’s end goal is likely to maintain a relative status quo, without onerous state regulations, licensing fees and taxes. The new regulatory body might also be used to dovetail into any new legislation considered at the state level.

Whether public officials at the state and federal level believe the FSCA is the answer to regulatory oversight will likely be a key part of the discussion for the industry moving forward.

Greg Ambrosius wrote: The FSCA will provide mandatory guidelines in four key areas:

Standards
Company Controls, Processes and Leadership
Auditing Policies and Procedures
Enforcement

With his background in the Labor Department, Harris seems like a good choice with regards to the first three areas. I would love to hear more details regarding this "Enforcement."

The following questions also come to mind:

1) How will the FSCA remain an independent body?

2) Who is funding the FSCA?

Nice job Greg.

I'll hold off on digging up my biotech resume for now...

I have been in contact with state legislators in my state who are discussing legislation to legalize and license daily fantasy sports. I am encouraging the concept to them that it is in the interest of this industry to self regulate and it will do so. All of us want and will demand a fair playing field. Good job,Greg and all, with the FSCA. I encourage all of us in the NFBC to contact those influential in this conversation to promote this idea. Millions of Americans harmlessly participate in fantasy sports each year with very few problems. All levels of government should spend their time on more pressing issues--like the $19 trillion of federal debt and all it's causes or our porous borders.

Hopefully they eliminate scripting, or at least only allow for the use of scripting that each company designs for all of their clients to use. To advertise like average Joe wins a million, when in reality average Joe is getting gobbled up by sharks, is a bit overboard. Especially when allowing sharks to use scripts to enhance their advantages even more. I withdrew almost all of my daily funds this week because of this issue.

I have generally thought the FSTA was useless. They have rarely done anything good for the industry IMO. Has come off to me as a way to rotate awards around to try and better images. Not much thought has ever been given to protecting players funds, etc. They have never made anyone accountable for anything that I am aware of. I am also curious who is funding this new deal, like Glenn mentioned.

King of Queens wrote:

Greg Ambrosius wrote: The FSCA will provide mandatory guidelines in four key areas:

Standards
Company Controls, Processes and Leadership
Auditing Policies and Procedures
Enforcement

With his background in the Labor Department, Harris seems like a good choice with regards to the first three areas. I would love to hear more details regarding this "Enforcement."

The following questions also come to mind:

1) How will the FSCA remain an independent body?

2) Who is funding the FSCA?

I don't have all of the answers, but there are a lot of people who are investing in this space and have a lot at stake in the continued growth of this space. I would think this would be a natural extension of that investment, but again I don't know for sure. Here are some stories that hopefully can answer that, and I'm sure Seth Harris will be answering all of this soon:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/daily-fanta ... management

http://news.yahoo.com/sports-fantasy-tr ... EEc2VjA3Nj

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/fantasy-sp ... EEc2VjA3Nj

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/ftsa-appoi ... d=34774127

http://espn.go.com/chalk/story/_/id/139 ... rol-agency

http://www.legalsportsreport.com/5626/f ... ol-agency/

That should cover all of the quotes from the FSTA, legislators, Harris, FanDuel and Draft Kings. It's not a perfect solution, but it's a starting point for states to work with. It not only covers DFS companies, but all pay-to-play fantasy game operators. Hopefully it provides some guidance in the high-stakes field as well so that we're all on the same level playing field and ensuring prizes for our customers. This can be good for our space as well.

I welcome this move and hope it ensures integrity & prizes in DFS and all pay-to-play fantasy games.

Cocktails and Dreams wrote:Hopefully they eliminate scripting, or at least only allow for the use of scripting that each company designs for all of their clients to use. To advertise like average Joe wins a million, when in reality average Joe is getting gobbled up by sharks, is a bit overboard. Especially when allowing sharks to use scripts to enhance their advantages even more. I withdrew almost all of my daily funds this week because of this issue.

I have generally thought the FSTA was useless. They have rarely done anything good for the industry IMO. Has come off to me as a way to rotate awards around to try and better images. Not much thought has ever been given to protecting players funds, etc. They have never made anyone accountable for anything that I am aware of. I am also curious who is funding this new deal, like Glenn mentioned.

Agreed on the scripting. I'm sure that will be looked at and discussed by this board.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but having been a founding member of the FSPA in 1998 and a board member for most of the last 17 years, I think your opinion about the FSTA is wrong Chad. It's okay, but it's wrong. I could point to legislation (UEIGA), licensing (CDM suit against MLBAM), surveys that have tracked the annual growth of the industry year to year, Trade Conferences that have brought business partners together along with mainstream media and investors, the FSCA and more. There's a lot that gets done behind the scenes to help with this continued growth that people have no idea goes on.

The FSTA is useless to the average player who, like you say, gets tired of hearing about awards and accolades for individuals. You just want action. We get it. But there's been positive action for years; heck, we used to spend a percentage of our revenue on licensing to the MLBPA and NFLPA, when now we can use that for prizes and profit!! Our industry is MUCH better than it was 17 years ago, but there's always more that can be done. Hopefully this is just the next step in that process.

I am most certainly not wrong Greg. Tell me what they have ever done to help the players. Then tell me what they have done to help each other. The second list is extensive. The first one, not so much.

Who cares?
I don't.
Do we expect Greg to expound on accomplishments?
Why should he?
Silliness.
We're all on the same side. We want fantasy sports to flourish.
Chad, you were burned by a company who screwed you and a lot of good folks. Nobody could have helped you or those others.
Not Greg. Not the FSTA. Not even the FBI.
Those assholes absconded with good people's money.
The FSTA,to me, is an organization that was designed to put fantasy sports on the map and into the daily stream of real life. They did the grunt work in laying down a foundation. Nobody acclaims grunt work.
I could care less what their accomplishments were.

What I do know is that they played a part in making fantasy sports a hobby loved by a lot of good folks.
What I do know is that Greg has created a fun playground for us to play in here.
What I do know is that everybody who has won in this space, has been paid.
Everybody who has played here, for the most part, has had a wonderful experience.

Well done George Will. Well done.

http://www.thespectrum.com/story/opinio ... /74700706/

Cocktails and Dreams wrote:I am most certainly not wrong Greg. Tell me what they have ever done to help the players. Then tell me what they have done to help each other. The second list is extensive. The first one, not so much.

Chad - the second (help each other) in turn helps the players. Big-time. The networking and brainstorming that goes on at the conferences (and throughout the year) has been paramount to the growth of the industry.

Tonight on STATS Fantasy Advantage on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio, Seth Harris will join us at 10 pm ET to kick off the show. We'll talk about the newly developed Fantasy Sports Control Agency and what it can do to help the industry continue growing. Tune in for what should be a great start to tonight's show. Thanks all.

Seth Harris of the Fantasy Sports Control Authority was on our STATS Fantasy Advantage show last night and he was VERY impressive. I think this is a great first step for the industry in setting up guidelines for self-regulation. And if the states work with the FSCA on all of this, all the better.

Anyway, if you didn't catch all of our interview with Seth, check out this part of the interview where he talks about the FSCA not only regulating DFS but all pay-to-play games in the industry:

https://soundcloud.com/siriusxmfantasy/ ... ts-fantasy

This is how dumb things are in our country over DFS: It was asked during the Republican debate last night if the candidates thought fantasy football was sports gambling and should be legal!! Thankfully, Gov. Chris Christie saw the lunacy in this question and went off on the moderator. Check out the video here:

http://www.foxsports.com/fantasy/footba ... ski-102915

http://onpolitics.usatoday.com/2015/10/ ... ll-debate/

Here's one vote for Christie winning the fantasy football side of the debate. Common sense prevails.

Very interesting announcement by Fanduel CEO Nigel Eccles today:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/fanduel-ceo ... 1446127412

FanDuel CEO Calls for Government Regulation
Nigel Eccles wants state government oversight to help ensure consumers can trust fantasy sports industry

The chief executive of FanDuel, Inc. is calling on the government to regulate the fantasy sports business.

Nigel Eccles, who founded FanDuel in 2009, said Thursday that intervention by state governments is the only way to ensure consumers can trust the fantasy sports industry, which is facing a federal criminal probe and scrutiny by state regulators.

He said a plan announced this week by the industry’s trade group to police itself with an outside control board is positive but doesn’t go far enough. “Consumers want a higher level of protection,” he said in an interview. “They need to know it’s fair, that the information is protected. If the consumer doesn’t trust the industry than the business doesn’t exist.”

Laws should be in place to mandate that fantasy sports operators keep player funds separate from operating cash, that companies have checks in place to ensure no one younger than 18 plays and that inside information cannot be misused, Mr. Eccles said. Companies also should be subject to third-party audits, he said.

Eccles said he supports efforts underway in several states, including recently announced legislation in Illinois, to implement such controls. Ideally, he said, all states would have some regulations in place.
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FanDuel on Thursday plans to send a letter to customers laying out Eccles’ views.

The fantasy sports industry, dominated by FanDuel and its rival DraftKings, Inc, has been scrambling to contain fallout from an incident this month when a DraftKings employee admitted on a fantasy-sports message board that he had prematurely released sensitive data about the site’s biggest contest. The same week, he won $350,000 on FanDuel, something both companies acknowledge.

DraftKings said the leak was an accident, and both companies said he didn’t benefit from having early access to data.

Federal investigators are trying to determine whether the business model of daily fantasy sports violates a 2006 federal law that prohibits financial firms from processing payments for online gambling businesses. The department is also probing whether company employees used insider knowledge of how customers place their bets to give their own bets an unfair edge.

Both FanDuel and DraftKings have said fantasy sports amounts to a game of skill, not chance, and therefore is exempt from the federal ban on online gambling.

The fantasy sports business is largely unregulated. A handful of states have made it illegal to play fantasy sports for money and a few have laws making it expressly legal. None have in place a framework for regulating operators.

The industry’s trade group this week announced plans to to create an outside control board to monitor daily and nondaily fantasy sports companies. It will be led by a former Obama administration official, lawyer Seth Harris, who was deputy labor secretary from 2009 to 2014. The plan would include audits and an enforcement mechanism to deal with misconduct. The trade association was not immediately available for comment.

Write to Sharon Terlep at [email protected]

Very encouraging.

Maybe have the government regulate the stuff they care about most (the government, that is), then declare fantasy legal then work with the FSCA on the other stuff.

I'm not sure the govt cares about scripting and multi-entries (though I can see how it can be spun into the gambling aspect). To me they're more game-play elements and it's not like the government is going to mandate all DFS contests have no kicker. But, I can see the FSCA stepping up in that area of control.

Eh, maybe I'm wrong, we'll see.

Is a differentiation between daily and season long on the agenda? I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Nevada will allow the NFBC to host drafts in March. I've made my calls to my representatives hopefully there are enough of us out there. On a side note I was listening to our local sports show and the hosts were talking about the take by the sports books were down last week. A coincidence or did no DFS impact their handle. The hosts were chalking it up to BLAH games. No kidding. Fantasy heightens the interest in some of these horrid games that pass for professional football.

Here's Nigel's letter to Fanduel players:

Here is the full text of the email:

Dear FanDuel Fans,
Over the last few weeks, the fantasy sports industry has received quite a bit of attention. I wanted
to take a moment to communicate directly with you, our players, to update you on what we are
doing to ensure you can continue to enjoy FanDuel. And, most importantly, to thank you for
your ongoing support and confidence in our company.

At FanDuel, we are proud to have transformed fantasy sports and are inspired every day as we
watch our young business change the way fans watch and engage with their favorite sports. In
the same way that Netflix transformed television and StubHub transformed the ticket
marketplace, FanDuel is transforming how fans engage in their favorite sports.
Fantasy sports will continue to evolve, and we remain focused on being the leader in that
evolution by constantly seeking to deliver new and better experiences for our players. We are
incredibly excited for what the future holds.

We all know fantasy sports are often a bond shared by friends, family, coworkers and others, and
as I write, our team is experimenting with a number of innovative social features to further
community building and help the growing number of fantasy fans from around the country
connect with one another. Some of these features also will simplify the ability to play against
and challenge your friends on the site.

We recently relaunched FanDuel Insider, with a full editorial staff, providing premium content
on fantasy expert advice and breaking news. Our acquisition of numberFire will add even more
tools for you to research lineups and players, since we know from many of you that researching a
lineup is often the most fun part of playing the game. In short, we are only at the outset of
transforming what the fantasy sports experience can be.

In any disruptive fastgrowing industry, important questions are often raised about how the
industry should operate – fantasy sports is no different. Real questions have emerged. At
FanDuel, we have always believed in taking a leadership role in protecting users and in how our
industry operates.

It’s why I personally drafted the Fantasy Sports Trade Association’s original paid operator
charter, which defines our industry’s principles for protecting the integrity of the game and the
fantasy experience – from segregating player funds to ensuring compliance with existing state
and federal law.

It’s why we asked former federal judge and United States Attorney General Michael Mukasey to
evaluate our internal controls, standards and practices. He is conducting a review of all areas of
our operation to identify ways we can further ensure we are protecting all players.
It’s why we are forming an advisory board led by former United States Attorney for the Southern
District of New York Michael Garcia, to provide ongoing advice, recommendations and
guidance to guarantee the integrity of our site and games.

In short, we have always been committed to protecting our players and the industry as a whole,
and we will continue to be.

That said, it has become apparent to me that our industry has grown to a size where a more
formal, industrywide approach is needed. To be clear, our industry needs strong, common sense,
enforceable consumer protection requirements to ensure its continued growth and success.
A number of smart, but tough proposals in various state legislatures have begun to emerge,
which I believe can serve as the basis for the sensible regulation of the fantasy sports industry.
The proposals include requirements for age and location verification, segregation of user funds,
protection of user information, safeguards against use of proprietary contest information
and requiring third party audits. These are steps I have always advocated for – and now is the
time to memorialize them in law for FanDuel and the entire industry.

We hope to work with legislative leaders in each state to ensure you, our fans, maintain access to
the fun and excitement you have come to love at FanDuel. The commissioners at the top
professional sports leagues including the NFL, the NBA and MLB share support for sensible
regulation of fantasy sports that protects consumers, without sacrificing their enjoyment of the
game.

We know this is an important issue for many of you, evidenced by the overwhelming outpouring
of support in recent weeks. In the past two weeks more than 145,000 of you signed our petition
seeking to protect your right to play fantasy sports. We believe smart regulations should be in
place, but some lawmakers are seeking to prohibit your right to play fantasy sports as you know
it. We need to remind officials how deep and wide the support for fantasy sports is across the
country. If you have not already, please sign our petition here.

Thank you again for your continued support of FanDuel and fantasy sports.

Nigel Eccles
CEO, FanDuel

Bloomberg on the FSCA. Sorry to inundate you with all of this, but what the heck, it's new and interesting:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/20 ... r-by-storm

The Fan Duel CEO asks for common sense. Then invites government intervention.
He can't have it both ways.

DOUGHBOYS wrote:Who cares?
I don't.
Do we expect Greg to expound on accomplishments?
Why should he?
Silliness.
We're all on the same side. We want fantasy sports to flourish.
Chad, you were burned by a company who screwed you and a lot of good folks. Nobody could have helped you or those others.
Not Greg. Not the FSTA. Not even the FBI.
Those assholes absconded with good people's money.
The FSTA,to me, is an organization that was designed to put fantasy sports on the map and into the daily stream of real life. They did the grunt work in laying down a foundation. Nobody acclaims grunt work.
I could care less what their accomplishments were.

What I do know is that they played a part in making fantasy sports a hobby loved by a lot of good folks.
What I do know is that Greg has created a fun playground for us to play in here.
What I do know is that everybody who has won in this space, has been paid.
Everybody who has played here, for the most part, has had a wonderful experience.

I do. If you don't that's fine. You don't need to discuss it and bring up things that have nothing to do with the fsta. When multiple members of the fsta have screwed people with the fsta stamp plastered all over their site, it tells me that the fsta does nothing to have any sort of requirements of their members. It is misleading for the player to see this fsta member stamp. It means nothing. As long as the fsta continues to allow members to screw people and not do a damn thing about it, I will continue to care and will continue to think they are more concerned about themselves. Heck many of them were happy wcoff screwed people so they lost competition. They won't admit it but it is true. So they really have no incentive to do anything about it. My bad for caring dough.

A woman buys an expensive vacuum. The vacuum comes with the 'Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval'.
The woman's vacuum breaks down and she has trouble getting the company to fix the vacuum.
Then, much to her distress, the company folds and she is left having to replace the vacuum.

The 'Good Housekeeping Seal Of Approval' and company are both blamed by the woman.
Her next purchase will be from another company and without the 'Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval'.
When the vacuum company received the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval, they were an earnest, blossoming company.
Things changed after receiving that Seal of Approval.
Is the woman better off NOT looking for the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval?
Or, does the woman want to blame anybody and everybody that even had just a little to do with the damned vacuum.

DOUGHBOYS wrote:A woman buys an expensive vacuum. The vacuum comes with the 'Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval'.
The woman's vacuum breaks down and she has trouble getting the company to fix the vacuum.
Then, much to her distress, the company folds and she is left having to replace the vacuum.

The 'Good Housekeeping Seal Of Approval' and company are both blamed by the woman.
Her next purchase will be from another company and without the 'Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval'.
When the vacuum company received the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval, they were an earnest, blossoming company.
Things changed after receiving that Seal of Approval.
Is the woman better off NOT looking for the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval?
Or, does the woman want to blame anybody and everybody that even had just a little to do with the damned vacuum.

http://thehill.com/policy/technology/25 ... f-policing

"Harris envisages a certification, similar to the Good Housekeeping Seal, the group can give to companies that do a good job of implementing its standards. The guidelines would be designed to protect consumer data, stop minors from playing their games and guard against employees using proprietary data to gain an advantage while playing fantasy sports, he said."

Cocktails and Dreams wrote:As long as the fsta continues to allow members to screw people and not do a damn thing about it, I will continue to care and will continue to think they are more concerned about themselves. Heck many of them were happy wcoff screwed people so they lost competition. They won't admit it but it is true. So they really have no incentive to do anything about it. My bad for caring dough.

Sorry Chad, but who in the hell was HAPPY that WCOFF took more than $1.5 million out of consumers' hands? Are you saying I was happy that many of my customers were screwed in this same space? You think Dave and Alex were happy? Who?

It's crazy to say that. NOBODY was pleased by that black eye. They were the biggest pay-to-play single fantasy contest in the industry at that time. Yes, they were an FSTA member, but one which had paid prizes on time for 9 straight years. There were plenty of red flags around the business once they jumped into baseball, but the FSTA wasn't about to shut them down for that. What was needed is what the FSCA is requiring: A full audit of each company to ensure that prizes are set aside from business operations and that prize money is secured for consumers. Who wouldn't agree that' a plan like that is good for the industry?

It's easy to blame the FSTA for this, but consumers helped it along as well. Of the more than $1.5 million they owed players, almost half of it was from prize winnings that players rolled over for the next season. They trusted these guys to keep their money for the upcoming season even though you could easily do the math and see that they were losing six figures for two years in baseball and not selling out football for several years. Consumers should NOT have trusted these guys with their winnings in 2010 and 2011.

The blame is on Jesse and Dustin for screwing players out of more than $1.5 million. Plain and simple. It could have easily been prevented, but the FSTA couldn't have prevented it. Not then. Hopefully the current plan will expose anyone who doesn't have prize funds secured for consumers.

But HAPPY about what happened with the WCOFF? No way as this industry lost a lot of good customers through that B.S. and many of them will never trust anyone else in this space again. They are gone for good because of WCOFF.

Greg Ambrosius wrote: Consumers should NOT have trusted these guys with their winnings in 2010 and 2011.

Greg- I don't necessarily agree with Chad that people within the industry were happy about the WCOFF collapse, but I also don't believe your statement here is fair. In fact, in 2011 I was somewhat new to high stakes fantasy sports. I was considering entering the WCOFB, but was gun-shy due to the "red flags" you speak of. I reached out to you as an industry insider and asked your thoughts about them paying. You told me straight up that you thought they would pay. I continued monitoring and luckily decided not to play. It's easy for you to say the above in hindsight, but given your statement to me, I don't think it's fair to consumers at all, because you also thought they would pay at that point in time.

I do agree with Chad that the FSTA has always seemed like a club that was willing to take in any company willing to pay dues. The guys that took over the AFFL were part of the club (perhaps still are??). They still haven't paid all of their winners from 2009 and continue to operate today. Nobody seems to care. The FSTA never did anything that I'm aware of to help the players out even though they gave their stamp of approval. It's easy to say all of this is great right now, but as long as the people governing are involved with or part of the group accepting the dues, it's never going to be independent and fully trusted.