PrizePicks, Underdog Fantasy Return to Florida With Peer-to-Peer Games

After being ordered in March to stop offering their player-prop-style daily fantasy games in Florida, PrizePicks and Underdog Fantasy returned on Monday with new peer-to-peer games that conform with state laws.

Florida customers of both apps received emails early on Monday announcing the return.

Underdog Fantasy branded its new game as “Pick ‘Em Champions,” while PrizePicks announced “Arena.” There was no announcement from Betr, which was also ordered to stop offering against-the-house DFS. Peer-to-peer games are contests where individuals compete against each other, instead of against the house, like in sports betting.

Florida law didn’t change. PrizePicks and Underdog pivoted.

“Arena is a peer-to-peer game played against other players rather than against the house,” a PrizePicks spokesperson told Gaming Today. “This model of games of skill was not subject to scrutiny in Florida. While we prefer state codification for all fantasy games of skill, rather than the common law, we look forward to working with policymakers to protect the DFS games sports fans across Florida love.”

The Florida Gaming Control Commission has not responded to an inquiry from Gaming Today.

Could Champions, Arena Return Underdog, PrizePicks to NY?

PrizePicks is currently exploring whether Arena would adhere to laws in states like New York and Arkansas, which also issued bans. PrizePicks agreed to pay the state of New York $15 million for offering what the state deemed unlicensed sports betting.

“We’re actively working with regulators and look forward to continuing to do so to ensure that our games comply with various state rules and regulations,” the spokesperson said.

Champions is now live in Florida!

To celebrate our Player vs Player game launching in FL, our Sitewide Sunshine Special is now LIVE ☀️

Choose 1 of 4 options in-app! All available until their respective game times. pic.twitter.com/j1RuJmO8Fo

— Underdog Picks (@UnderdogPicks) April 22, 2024

DFS Future Still Unsettled in Florida

PrizePicks, Underdog, and Betr all adhered to cease-and-desist orders from the Florida Gaming Control Commission ordering them to halt prop-style DFS within 30 days or face criminal referral. Large national operators DraftKings and FanDuel were not involved in the crackdown because they weren’t offering similar games. The Seminole Tribe of Florida has a monopoly on sports betting in the state and chairman Jim Allen told Gaming Today that while he considered the DraftKings and FanDuel offerings there permissible, he also deemed the PrizePicks, Betr, and Underdog apps illegal sports betting.

“The compact allows for the existing scope of fantasy to not be an exclusion or a default,” Allen said in December. “So if DraftKings and FanDuel continue to do what they’re doing, we’re fine with that. So that’s category one. We have no issue with that whatsoever. But certainly what Betr and Underdog and others like them are doing is flat-out illegal. There is no way around it. Eleven other states have declared exactly what they’re doing as illegal and we support the Florida Gaming Commission and the Attorney General in pursuing that.

Two bills that would have legalized the type of games that ran PrizePicks, Betr, and Underdog afoul of state regulators failed in the waning days of the 2024 Florida legislative session.