New Michigan rules that ban player prop over/under style daily fantasy sports games went into effect today, according to the Michigan Gaming Control Board.

The Michigan Gaming Control Board announced today that new rules for daily fantasy sports are now in effect after they were filed with the Office of the Great Seal, part of the Bureau of Elections in the Michigan Department of State.

The gaming control board will conduct a review of all current fantasy contest operator applicants to ensure they comply with the Fantasy Contests Consumer Protection Action and Rule requirements.

Pick ‘Em Games Likely Out in Michigan

The Michigan Gaming Control Board proposed the DFS rules back in August. The rules prohibit the following regarding Pick ‘Em style games:

  • “Proposition selection” means a fantasy contest player choosing whether an identified instance or statistical achievement will occur, will be achieved, or will be surpassed
  • Proposition selection or fantasy contests that have the effect of mimicking proposition selection
  • Any fantasy contests that involve, result in, or have the effect of mimicking betting on sports

Pick ‘Em style DFS games involve customers playing against the house and making over-under type selections on a combination of statistical outcomes for athletes.

Under the Fantasy Contests Consumer Protection Rules, fantasy contest operators or licensed management companies may not offer any games that “have the effect of mimicking betting on sports, or that involve ‘prop bets’ or the effect of mimicking proposition selection.”

“Fantasy contests, like any other form of competitive gaming, thrive on rules and regulations,” MGCB Executive Director Henry Williams said in a released statement. “The Administrative Rules, which were reviewed by the Michigan Legislature, provide a level playing field for all fantasy contest operators and participants, and will help ensure that fairness, transparency, and integrity are upheld.”

Coalition for Fantasy Sports Decry Rules

The Coalition for Fantasy Sports, a group representing PrizePicks, Underdog Fantasy, and Sleeper, recently decried the new rules and restrictions on DFS games. The coalition reported more than 2,600 emails were submitted protesting the new DFS rules by Michigan DFS customers and over 700 phone calls were placed to the committee.

“We will continue to work with regulators and policymakers to provide the innovative fantasy sports products customers want and love,” the coalition wrote in a prepared statement.

State Sen. Jim Runestad (R-23), a proponent of DFS in the state and a member of the JCAR, criticized the decision to move the rules forward.

“For weeks we’ve heard from citizens in our home districts and across the state, demanding that we lead on this issue. Instead, Chairman Haadsma and his fellow JCAR Democrats chose to do nothing. They ignored the voices of Michiganders, bent to the will of big donors and corporate interests, and clearly violated the intent of the original fantasy sports bill as well as the will of the people. Moving forward, I pledge to work with the gaming commission and other lawmakers to restore access to the legal fantasy sports games that have just been stripped away from Michiganders,” he said in a prepared statement.