Fantasy Football Gambling Ruled Skill While Poker is Chance

Among the startling decisions made by Federal Reserve and Treasury officials in devising the regulations is the inclusion of poker as a game of chance, while fantasy football is considered skill.

A former lobbyist for the National Football League has been implicated in the rush to finalize regulations implementing the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. Even though White House spokesmen have insisted that William Wichterman was cleared by ethics overseers to participate in crafting the rules, some observers have noted how convenient for the NFL the final rule is.

Among the startling decisions made by Federal Reserve and Treasury officials in devising the regulations is the inclusion of poker as a game of chance, while fantasy football is considered skill. In the published explanation of the rules, it is stated that Congress by using the term "game of chance" to define illegal gambling whereas a passage later it refers to "predominantly games of chance" meant to include games that may be mostly skill but contain elements of luck.

This is used to include online poker sites in the category of illegal Internet gambling. But fantasy football is ruled legal, and chance is discounted. Of course, any fantasy sports player knows that a tweaked injury or a blown call can determine that day's outcome. Often, leagues consist of a set of all-star teams, and random and unforeseen circumstances decide fantasy victors.

The difference is the immensely wealthy and powerful NFL lobby. The NFL supports fantasy football, providing statistics and merchandising and making a pretty penny on the activity. So, once again, certain gambling forms are under legal attack not for moral reasons, but because a monopolistic competitor feels threatened.

Any cry about gambling addictiveness or moral turpitude must include fantasy football, as much a threat to the sanctity of marriage as any housewife has faced. But, as long as the NFL can profit from it, fantasy gambling somehow morphs into a game requiring more skill than poker, a fantastic proposition.

One fantasy football gambler, Tony H. of Kansas City, said, "Of course fantasy is gambling, that's why I love it! I play in four football leagues, three baseball, and two each for hockey and basketball. "

Asked how many hours he spends obsessed with fantasy sports, Tony said, "No more than fifteen hours a week, twenty max."

If the NFL could get a piece of Las Vegas sportsbooks, how quickly would it lobby to spread sports gambling around the country?