Is Fanduel Legal In Canada?
Yes, Fanduel currently accepts all players from Canada (excluding Quebec), but you must be 18 years of age or older to play.
Fanduel Legality in Canada
Canada has always fallen into a so-called “grey” area when it comes to all things online and especially when dealing with
industries like poker, casino games and now daily fantasy sports. There is no current law or legislation in Canada that would make Fanduel illegal. While we wouldn’t say DFS is explicitly legal in Canada, Fanduel operates “legally” because of a UIGEA law passed in 2006 by the US federal government which deemed fantasy sports to be a game of skill, while poker and casino games were deemed games of luck. This designation of a skill game is the key to what makes Fanduel legal in both the US and Canada. So despite some of the challenges that DFS has faced in recent months in the USA, Fanduel and other daily fantasy sites continue to operate legally in Canada.
Challenges Fanduel Might Face in the Future
If you have been following Fanduel and daily fantasy news in 2015 then you know some legal challenges have risen for the company at the state level in the United States. The biggest challenge to arise is the situation in New York where Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has declared Fanduel and Draftkings to be illegal gambling institutions and is fighting to have them cease and desist their operations in New York. The battle continues to play out in court at the time of this writing and it remains to be seen what will happen for DFS in New York. New York is the biggest market for Fanduel and many speculate whatever ends up happening legally there will set the tone for the rest of the United States and potentially Canada.
Specifically in Canada, so far there has not been the kind of scrutiny for daily fantasy sports as there has been in the United States. The biggest criticism so far has come from the Canadian Gaming Association who in November claimed to have received legal opinion that fantasy sports are in fact illegal under the Criminal Code of Canada. It should be noted, that the CGA is trade group whose stakeholders include casinos, so there is some bias to be expected.
We don’t expect the Canadian government to look into Daily Fantasy Sports anytime soon as it does not seem to be a priority and it’s realistic to believe that they will wait to see what eventually happens in the US before addressing DFS in Canadian law.
Should Canadian Fanduel Players Be Worried?
In our opinion, as the current law stands right now, legally we see no reason why a Canadian player should be worried about playing on Fanduel. Even in the US, the state government is specifically targeting the companies themselves (like Fanduel) and not the actual DFS players. In a worst case scenario for all daily fantasy sports players, Canadian and US governments will declare DFS illegal in law and simply have the sites shut down with players having no place to play the game they love. Similar to what happened to poker in the United States on “Black Friday” back in 2011. We hope this doesn’t happen and feel we are more likely to see long court battles playing out before eventual regulation in the DFS industry both in Canada and the USA.
Update for 2017 – There are now 11 states which have passed bills declaring DFS legal to play in the USA. Almost all states are now looking at DFS and the outlook is much more positive for legislation to legalize compared to 2016. In Canada, there are no bills either way and the status quo allowing Canadian players to play DFS looks to continue for the foreseeable future.
Canada is currently the second biggest market in the world for Daily Fantasy Sports behind the US of course. Approximately 41.5 Million Canadians and Americans participated in daily fantasy sports in 2014 and that number is expected to have doubled if not tripled for 2015. To give you some level of comfort, 3 of the writers on this site are Canadian, have played at Fanduel for years and have had no problems withdrawing or winning money at Fanduel.
Visit Fanduel to play Daily Fantasy Sports.
DISCLAIMER: This article is not legal advice, we are not lawyers or specialized legal experts in any way. If you have serious concerns participating at Fanduel as a Canadian you should consult legal counsel to further direct you.
You can also view our Best DFS Sites for Canadians, where Fanduel ranks high up on the list.
About PDFS
We have been around since the very early days of DFS and have seen many sites rise and fall. Our team of Daily Fantasy Sports players and industry insiders look to provide the ultimate online DFS resource.
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