Fans of Daily Fantasy Sports in Missouri and Delaware are finally set to access one of the nation’s leading DFS operators.
PrizePicks has announced that it has been awarded daily fantasy sports operator licenses in Delaware and Missouri. The Atlanta-based company, which currently operates in 44 jurisdictions, will open its peer-to-peer fantasy sports contest Arena in the wake of receiving both licenses.
“We are proud that Arena has been approved in every state where it has been submitted. We’ve seen strong player adoption to date and we look forward to replicating our success in these new markets with a fun gaming experience,” said PrizePicks CEO Mike Ybarra. “We’d like to extend our gratitude to the Delaware Division of Gaming Enforcement, the Delaware Lottery, and the Missouri Gaming Commission for their thoughtful collaboration.”
PrizePicks Arena offerings, meanwhile, now become legal and operate in 15 states across the U.S., following its most recent expansion into New Hampshire back in August.
Despite growth, DFS remains touchy
PrizePicks has seen particularly substantial growth over the last calendar year, with the company's DFS offerings previously being made available this year in states such as Florida, Massachusetts, and Alabama.
“We're focused on expanding PrizePicks' reach by creating new, innovative game types that push the PrizePicks brand and truly put sports fans at the center of gameplay,” said VP of innovation Brian Huss back in January. “PrizePicks Arena is an exciting new twist on the PrizePicks experience that paves the way for future product innovations."
That hasn’t meant that the new model hasn’t come under intense scrutiny at times as well. Back in April, PrizePicks first returned to Florida under revised circumstances for the first time, with regulators initially sending cease-and-desist letters to them alongside other DFS operators that determined they were operating illegally.
PrizePicks has also come from other states, such as New York where they were forced to come to a $15 million settlement with the New York Gaming Commission back in February after regulators found that the site was operating outside of legal bounds.
The original DFS model, and one that had skirted regulations, mirrored prop picks in many ways, with players creating accounts, depositing money, and picking Over/Unders on specific player status for cash prizes.
