Daily Fantasy Sports Might Have Negative Impact on Casinos and Lottery

1,004 US players of daily fantasy sports were interviewed

According to a new online survey conducted by the Leger Research Intelligence Group, daily fantasy sports (DFS) may threaten online casinos and lottery. The results from the online pool revealed that 1,004 US players of daily fantasy sports spent more money and time on online DFS rather than on casino games and lotteries.

In particular, among the 15% US players who said that they have played DFS this season, 3 out of 5 or 61% of them agreed that the amount they spent on Fantasy Football has lowered their spend on instant win games, scratch cards, lottery draws and other lottery style games such as Mega Millions and Powerball.

Furthermore, 84% of the players of DFS mentioned playing a lottery style game in the past month which is more than twice the number cited by US adults overall, which is 41%. With a wide number of players playing DFS, could the increased DFS spend lead to a negative impact on casinos and lottery?

An Increase in DFS Spend

The interviewed FanDuel players said that they have spent $37 per gaming session on average, compared to DraftKings players who spent a little bit more or $39. Leger says that the spending amounts rise up substantially among players. Besides the lowering of spend in casino and lottery, 56% of DFS players said that their send on Fantasy Football this season lowered their casino gambling bankrolls. This development may partially explain why Nevada has recently banned unlicensed DFS activities.

The group also points out that 15% of US players said to have played on DFS websites this season, which is just behind the 17% who said that they had played traditional Fantasy Football league. The senior account manager at Leger, Lance Henik, said that the advertizing of both DraftKings and FanDuel seemed to be playing off both in DFS play and brand awareness.

Furthermore, according to Leger, 9% of those who haven’t played on DFS sites this season are “extremely likely or very likely” to play. Out of them 4% said that they will “extremely likely” play on a DFS website. If this happens, DFS play could likely surpass traditional Fantasy Football league by the end of the NFL season.

DFS Play Viewed As Gambling

The online pool from October 2015 also reveals that one in four players or 28% consider DFS play as gambling. More and more people view DFS as gambling as 4 out of 5 or 85% who play DFS overall view their activities as gambling.
In addition, 39% of the respondents consider traditional Fantasy Sports such as Baseball, Football and so on as gambling when compared to the DFS.

Lastly, the survey found that both traditional FF and DFS play is at 28% for both forms among players aged 18-29 year old. However, there is gap between players aged 30-39 years old. According to the numbers, 26% of them were engaged in DFS play, while 30% in FF play.