DraftKings Pick6 Fantasy Game Removed in Maryland

Maryland put a stop to a DraftKings pick 'em fantasy gaming option that had originally been approved by regulators.

James Bisson

Last Updated: December 23, 2023 4:44 PM EST • 3 minute read

A DraftKings logo on a photo on top of a basketball.

The Maryland Lottery has made a decision on the availability of DraftKings Pick6 Fantasy Game, a peer-to-peer pick 'em style game that seems to be blurring the lines between traditional sports wagering and DFS gaming. The decision did not go the betting behemoth's way.

On Thursday, the state's lottery put a stop to a DraftKings pick 'em fantasy gaming option that had originally been approved by regulators. It had been made available to Maryland bettors for about two weeks, but was stopped with regulators concluding that Pick6 represents a violation of state regulations.

“Maryland’s sports wagering law has a broad definition of wager types that are considered sports wagering as opposed to daily fantasy sports. As a result, there are competitions that may be permitted under the DFS laws and regulations in other jurisdictions, but aren’t permitted here,” said Seth Elkin, the Maryland Lottery’s managing director of communications.

The gaming option has been made available in 16 other states. As of Thursday, there was no indication of the fantasy game being halted in those jurisdictions.

In a social media post on Thursday, Jon Aguiar, DraftKings’ peer-to-peer gaming director broke the news by saying: “Unfortunately, we’ve had to stop offering Pick6 in Maryland at this time, we hope this will change in the future.”

Make sure to check out our top Maryland sportsbook promos heading into the new year.

The issue

Maryland sports betting regulators were unclear at first as to where they landed on the subject of pick ‘em style gaming — that was until Thursday.

The main issue with DraftKings Pick6 product is the contrast between betting against the house, which is allowed under most legal sports betting rules across the country and betting against peers, which is a totally different animal.

With DraftKings' Pick6 gaming, users pick between two-to-six prop bets, and put those picks up against another user in a head-to-head contest. It is not betting against a specific sports betting provider.

DraftKings Pick6 muddies the waters with their peer-to-peer betting platform. It is in fact, some say, essentially a DFS platform disguised as a prop betting platform. It is argued that Pick6 is closer to a traditional fantasy platform than it is a legal sports betting platform.

According to Seth Elkin, “The sports wagering definition in our law includes single-game bets; teaser bets; parlays; over/unders; moneylines; pools; exchange wagering; in-game wagering; in-play bets; proposition bets; and straight bets. If a competition has any of these components, it’s defined in Maryland as sports wagering and is not permitted as a DFS offering. It can only be made available by a licensed online sports wagering platform or facility.”

The Old Line State has yet to OK any other Fantasy pick 'em sports betting options offered by such companies as PrizePicks or Underdog Fantasy and doesn't seem to be on track to go live with those products anytime soon.

In fact, PrizePicks or Underdog Fantasy haven't even attempted to infiltrate the Maryland market.

Writing was on the wall

Fantasy gaming options have been the target of a number of regulators in the American legal sports betting industry as of late. The idea of Fantasy pick 'em contests has been in the news in New York and Colorado with the two major sports betting jurisdictions ruling against allowing such gaming options accompanying their more traditional legal sports betting platforms.

Maryland isn't the first state to outlaw such betting practices and it likely won't be the last.

That said, DraftKings Pick6 is still widely available, even in California, where the topic of legal sports betting has been a sticky one for lawmakers and the state's tribes which own a virtual monopoly over the gambling industry in the state.

DraftKings Pick6 is still available in:

Alaska
California
Georgia
Minnesota
Missouri
Nebraska
New Mexico
North Dakota
Oklahoma
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Utah
Washington DC
West Virginia
Wisconsin

Where the future of such peer-to-peer pick 'em contests in the American market goes is anyone's guess. But as of now, they are on the radar of regulators in a number of states and will likely be something to keep an eye on.

Written by:
James Bisson

James Bisson is the Editor-in-Chief of Sportsbook Review. He has been a writer, reporter and editor for more than 20 years, including a nine-year stint with The Canadian Press and more than five years at theScore. He has covered dozens of marquee events including the 2010 Winter Olympics, the 2006 Stanley Cup final and Wrestlemania 23, and his work has appeared in more than 200 publications, including the Los Angeles Times, the Guardian, Yahoo! Sports, the Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail. His book, “100 Greatest Canadian Sports Moments”, was a hardcover best-seller in Canada in 2008 and earned him appearances on CBC Radio and Canada AM. He has written more than 50 sportsbook reviews, more than 200 industry news articles and dozens of other sportsbook-related content articles. A graduate of the broadcast journalism program at Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University), James has been an avid bettor since the early 2000s, and cites bet365 as his favorite sports betting site due to its superior functionality and quick payouts. His favorite piece of sports betting advice: "Stay in your lane. You're much more likely to have success betting sports you know, and focusing on finding angles and edges there."