It hasn’t been a great regulatory week for daily fantasy sports operators.

The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration yesterday sent cease-and-desist letters to PrizePicks and Underdog Fantasy for what it believes amounts to unlicensed sports betting in violation of Amendment 100 to the Arkansas Constitution.

The Department believes that the operators classic pick’em games are too closely associated with sports betting and “player prop bets.”

Arkansas Latest State to Crack Down

Under Arkansas law, traditional daily fantasy sports operate under the protection of Act 1075 of the 2017 regular session, the department noted. The law does not allow these operators to offer what it believes to be unlicensed sports betting.

“Back in the day, places that tolerated illegal gambling were referred to as ‘wide open,’” said DFA Regulatory Administrator Trent Minner, in a release. “The Internet is today’s equivalent of a ‘wide open town’ where unlicensed gambling thrives outside of the taxation and age-verification requirements required by the law. As the state’s regulator of licensed sports betting, DFA is putting these companies on notice that Arkansas is not ‘wide open.’”

DFA Secretary Jim Hudson said that Arkansas law requires sports bets to placed in licensed sportsbooks. These operators, he said, are not required by law to verify if a participant is 21 years of age and do not pay taxes related to sports betting in the state.

The legal age for DFS in the state is 18.

A PrizePicks spokesperson told Saturday Down South the company disagrees with the department’s assessment that its offerings are tantamount to betting on player props. PrizePicks, the spokesperson noted, is properly licensed to operate in the state and has paid all necessary taxes.

“PrizePicks has made compliance and collaboration with regulators a top priority since day one. We are fully compliant with all laws where we operate: we’ve obtained applicable licenses, paid taxes, and operated enormously popular games for years while enforcing the industry’s most demanding responsible play requirements. We will challenge any and all of these actions as appropriate, and fully intend to defend the rights of our hundreds of thousands of passionate customers in these states,” the spokesperson said.

PrizePicks is currently still operational in the state.

A spokesperson for Underdog Fantasy could not be reached for comment.

Tough Week for PrizePicks and Underdog

The Arkansas cease-and-desist letters came on the same day the Florida Gaming Control Commission revealed it had sent a second round of cease-and-desist letters to Underdog, PrizePicks, and Betr.

The letters asked each of the daily fantasy sports operators to cease and desist “offering or accepting illegal bets or wagers from [Florida] residents” and “conducting any illegal lotteries” within 30 days of Jan. 31. If the operators decided to not comply, the matter would be sent to the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution.

An Underdog Fantasy spokesperson confirmed the company received the letter and would be end Florida operations on Friday, March 1. A PrizePicks representative also confirmed it would cease its current games on that date.

PrizePicks also announced it would be ceasing its paid contests in New York earlier this week. The operator ceased its paid contests on Wednesday, Feb. 14, and now only offerings its free-to-play contests in the Empire State.

PrizePicks did not have a license to operate in New York, but has reported that it will go through the licensing process in the state.