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Underdog Fantasy has launched a new daily fantasy sports contest in North Carolina, several months after pulling its classic pick’em game from the Tar Heel State.
An Underdog Fantasy representative confirmed to Saturday Down South that its Pick’Em Champions service, a peer-to-peer daily fantasy sports (DFS) game that allows players to build teams of athletes and predict how they’ll perform against statistical benchmarks, is currently live in North Carolina.
“We shifted to our peer-to-peer fantasy sports model in North Carolina and the Tar Heel State fans continue to love our fantasy sports games. We are permitted to offer our hallmark fantasy sports product in the state, while at the same time, we also hold a sports betting license and continue to offer our sports betting products to fans as well,” Senior VP of Government Affairs and Partnerships Stacie Stern told Saturday Down South.
Peer-to-peer live in North Carolina
Underdog Fantasy ceased its classic pick’em services in North Carolina in February when questions arose from the state about its legality. North Carolina regulators had concerns with Underdog Fantasy’s pick’em games, as they traditionally pit users against the house. Many regulators view these types of DFS games as being a variation of sports betting.
Pick’em Champions, however, is fundamentally different from Underdog’s classic pick’em game, as it allows players to enter their teams into a tournament where they face off against other users as opposed to the house.
It’s worth noting that other DFS companies, such as PrizePicks, continue to offer classic against the house pick’em style games in North Carolina.
Saturday Down South reached out to the North Carolina Lottery Commission for comment on Underdog Fantasy launching Champions in the state. The commission, however, noted that it does not regulate fantasy sports and offered nothing further.
“The Commission works closely with its eight licensed sports wagering operators and is aware of their various offerings; however, the Commission does not regulate fantasy sports. Please see 18C-902(e) in the Sports Wagering Law passed by the NC General Assembly in 2023. (“(e) Nothing in this Article shall apply to fantasy or simulated games or contest in which one or more fantasy contest players compete and winning outcomes reflect the relative knowledge and skill of the fantasy contest platers and are determined predominantly by accumulated statistical results of the performance of individuals, including athletes in the case of sports event.”),” Ryan Carter, public information officer of the commission, told Saturday Down South.
While DFS is currently offered and legal in North Carolina, the state legislature has yet to pass any specific rules or regulations for the industry. Legislators actually proposed DFS rules in late 2023, but decided to hold off on the approval and implementation to focus on the launch of sports betting.
Underdog Fantasy was one of the original operators to receive a sports betting license from the commission and launched sports betting in the state this past March.
Underdog has successfully re-entered other states
Underdog Fantasy has successfully re-entered a number of states in the past year after asking the company to cease offering its pick’em games. Underdog has started offering its Champions DFS game in Tennessee, Florida, Arizona, Kansas, and Colorado within the last 12 months after state regulators banned pick’em games.
In Tennessee, for example, Underdog Fantasy initially offered its pick’em games, but had to pull back its services when notified it did not comply with state statutes and regulations. However, when the company notified Tennessee regulators that it would not offer pick’em and would stick with its Champions DFS game, the Tennessee Sports Wagering Council agreed to Underdog’s proposal.
Tennessee would become one of four states were Underdog debuted its Champions product in late 2023, joined by Alabama, Mississippi, and Wyoming.
Robert is an expert on sports betting in the United States, specifically the legalization process and regulation surrounding the industry.
