PrizePicks is making a big change in the Empire State.

The daily fantasy sports operator today notified its New York customers that its traditional pick’em paid contests will cease in the state on Wednesday, Feb. 14, at 11:59 p.m. PrizePicks will begin offering its free-to-play contests with monetary prizes on Thursday, Feb. 15, at 7 a.m., a spokesperson confirmed.

PrizePicks also announced it will work with the New York State Gaming Commission to acquire a license to allow its new peer-to-peer product to operate in the state.

New York Changes DFS Rules

PrizePicks of course had to alter its offerings after the New York State Gaming Commission amended its daily fantasy sports (DFS) rules. The expansive new rules effectively placed a prohibition on DFS offerings that mimic proposition bets, which placed pick’em games squarely in the banned list of offerings.

Customers will continue to have access to their PrizePicks accounts and funds throughout the process.

“We’re actively working with the New York Gaming Commission to get approval and licensure for our peer-to-peer product, Arena, and will be offering our free-to-play version in the state until then,” a PrizePicks spokesperson confirmed.

The gaming commission introduced the new rules in mid-2023. The Commission opened comments on the proposed rules this summer and closed the comment period in late September. The commission received several comments in favor of Pick ‘Em games, but did not amend the DFS rules.

The finalized rules do not include Pick ‘Em style DFS games, despite protests from PrizePicks, UnderDog Fantasy, and the Coalition for Fantasy Sports (CFS).

The criteria for DFS games are clearly laid out in the new rules.

“These would include statutory standards as well as a requirement that contests shall not be based on proposition betting and shall not have the effect of mimicking proposition betting. Contests in which a contestant chooses whether an individual athlete or a single team will surpass an identified statistical achievement would be prohibited,” a paragraph of the approved rules reads.

PrizePicks Arena May Come to New York

If PrizePicks receives a license from the gaming commission, it will be able to offer its newest service, PrizePicks Arena. The peer-to-peer fantasy sports game pits users against one another in paid prizes instead of against the house.

According to PrizePicks, users compete for guaranteed prizes in Arena by being placed into groups matching their number of entries, selected entry fee and experience level. The game offers users unique opportunities to win prizes for their entries by creating the highest scoring entry within their group.

Arena is currently live in Alabama, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Wyoming.