The same man who filed a class action against Underdog and PrizePicks in Massachusetts has filed a second suit against another handful of fantasy sports operators.
Six new DFS sites named in second suit
Joseph Curran has filed a suit in Essex County Superior Court against ParlayPlay, Boom Fantasy, OwnersBox, Sleeper, Chalkboard Fantasy and Vivid Picks. Like the suit against PrizePicks and Underdog, Curren alleges that these fantasy operators were offering products that were tantamount to sports betting and in violation of Massachusetts state law.
“Thos wo accept bets illegally deprive the state of valuable license fees and tax revenue. In bringing this suit, Plaintiff seeks to protect the interests of Massachusetts residents by holding Defendants accountale for their willful disregard of Massachusetts law,” the complaint read.
While these sites were not licensed sportsbooks, fantasy sports operators are required to register and obtain a license from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission in order to offer DFS in the state.
Curran alleges the combined revenue of the operators amounted to more than $500,000 a month in the state in the months leading up to March 2024.
Under state law, anyone can sue illegal gambling outfits and recoup treble damages in the state, so even if Curran did not play on these fantasy sites, he claims he has standing to bring forth the litigation.
Most of the defendants have altered MA product offering
The Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell sent out a cease and desist to fantasy sports operators offering parlay-style games against the house in February of last year. Accordingly, several sites pivoted to a peer-to-peer offering or exited the marketplace. Boom Fantasy, VividPicks and Chalkboard, for example, do not currently operate in Massachusetts. Sleeper only offers its peer-to-peer product in the state. ParlayPlay and OwnersBox state they are still available in the commonwealth.
Like in his previous suit, Curran noted the actions by Campbell in his complaint.
While this second suit gets started, the first suit already lost one plaintiff when Yahoo was dismissed from the case.
Meanwhile, both Underdog and PrizePicks have filed motions to compel arbitration as well as motions to dismiss the case. Underdog also filed a request to sever the two plaintiffs and split Curran’s complaint into separate complaints against each entity.
