By charging blindly into uncharted waters, the daily fantasy sports industry has made a shipload of trouble for itself. Case in point, defunct (or at least comatose) DFS site FantasyUp. The latter pulled the rug out from under its customers, ceasing operations 
and saying it had “essentially paid” its customers — but not really. “Over the following weeks, the industry saw numerous legal issues arise, increasing the cost of doing business and the decreasing the ability to raise funds. FantasyUp no longer has the capital to fund even minimal operations,” was the official explanation. FantasyUp was also comingling operating funds with bettors’ accounts — a big no-no. (It also may have been the least of its sins.) There’s still some form of rescue possible, due to the intervention of iTeam Network, although a previous bailout attempt had fizzled.
That may have been due to the vast ocean of uncertainty upon which DFS floats. It’s made headway in Virginia and Massachusetts, but faces setbacks in Nevada, New York and Illinois. For every step forward, there seems to be one step back. After all, there’s no getting around the fact that wagering on the performance of specific athletes is gambling. Period. And some states frown upon letting you do that on the Internet. Besides, thanks to the federal government, sports betting at any level is illegal in the vast majority of these United States. It’s legal in Nevada, of course, but DFS providers obviously feel it’s too much bother to apply for licenses … and casinos seem to believe there’s not enough money in sports pools to go to the bother of setting them up. Besides, when a site like FantasyUp takes your money and turns turtle, you’ve got precious little legal recourse these days.
Gabe Hunterton of iTeam, which may also bail out failed FantasyHub, said the current problems are “a very, very clear-cut indication that our industry needs regulation.” One of the most refreshing aspects of the DFS industry has been its willingness to accept state oversight. Taking a screw-you attitude would only invite more trouble. “The legislation we are proposing in each state has provisions for regulating and auditing companies to ensure that prize obligations are not mixed with other company funds,” says Fantasy Sports Trade Association President Paul Charchian, although Legal Sports Report Publisher Chris Grove scoffs at the regulatory legislation proposed by DFS promoters, calling it self-policing in disguise. And if there’s one thing we’ve learned from DFS’ rocky maiden voyage it’s that the industry needs more reliable guidance at the helm.
* Macao gambling revenues leveled off in February but it may have been a dead-cat bounce, judging by the latest report from JP Morgan‘s Joseph Greff. Mass-market 
table revenue was down 2% and credit extended to high rollers fell 16%. Looking ahead to March, Greff anticipates a 9% declivity in the market, with mass-market tables down 5%. A final bottoming-out is anticipated for May, with a long-awaited market turnaround predicted for September, when parts of Sands China‘s The Parisian start to come on line. Sheldon Adelson‘s company was one of last month’s winners, with table-game revenue up 5%, while the same segment leapt 28% at Wynn Macau. By comparison, Melco Crown Entertainment was flat, with Studio City making up for some weakness at City of Dreams, while MGM Grand Paradise had a rough go of it, down 17.5% at the all-important tables. Sands also dominated market share, with 24%. Adelson’s instincts for presidential politics may be poor but he’s got his finger firmly on the pulse of the Macanese market.
* While the clock may be running on Sen. Harry Reid‘s tenure, Old Sixty Votes isn’t giving up on the XpressWest train from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. In an 
environmentally questionable — if politically expedient — move, Reid and Sen. Dean Heller (R) are pushing a bill that would remove 520 acres of the Mojave National Preserve from the National Parks Service to the more pliant Bureau of Land Management, to create an easement for the train track. “This shorter and more economically efficient route avoids unnecessary impacts on wildlife and habitat while also preventing the need to tunnel under hills, which is required by alternate routes,” the sponsors wrote. A parallel bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives by Reps. Joe Heck, Cresent Hardy and Mark Amodei (all R). “Allowing the border of the Mojave Preserve to be pulled back from the freeway in exchange for more vital inholdings within the Preserve is also a win for conservation,” said Reid, his spin-doctoring skills operating at warp speed.
