A major daily fantasy sports operator in North America recently made a serious regulatory move.
Key Takeaways
- Todd Grossman has helped the MGC develop gaming regulations and policies since 2012.
- The new appointee will aid PrizePicks in working toward licensing and long-term growth.
- PrizePicks created the role during a time of an evolving regulatory landscape.
PrizePicks announced Wednesday that Massachusetts Gaming Commission executive Todd Grossman has been named as the company’s director of gaming regulatory compliance.
Grossman previously served as interim executive director and general counsel with the MGC. The DFS operator’s new appointee will “help drive the company’s compliance strategy across all jurisdictions, ensuring operational excellence in a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape,” PrizePicks said in a release.
Grossman, who has spent more than two decades providing legal work in compliance, governance, and risk, will also aid PrizePicks in licensing and long-term growth for a company that operates at least one form of its fantasy games in 45 U.S. states and all Canadian provinces except Ontario.
PrizePicks creates the new role at a time when more and more states are changing or becoming stricter on DFS licensing and regulation.
Government experience
Grossman joined the MGC in 2012, shortly after the regulatory agency was created. He helped create and implement new regulations and policies for licensed gaming operators to follow.
Grossman has been head of an agency legal team that provided the commission with gaming and racing counsel since September 2020. He served as interim commissioner from late 2019 until August 2020.
Before joining the MGC, Grossman worked in legal roles for the Massachusetts Department of Public Safety, State Athletic Commission, and the Assistant District Attorney’s Office in Middlesex County.
Jurisdictional issues
PrizePicks offers peer-to-peer and against-the-house fantasy games that aren’t regulated like many traditional sportsbooks. Fantasy sports differ from sports betting in terms of laws in several states and provinces, allowing for a larger footprint than the 39 currently legal U.S. jurisdictions and one Canadian province.
However, PrizePicks has faced regulatory and licensing issues in several states with legal sports betting, including New York, Florida, and Michigan. The company changed its offerings in certain jurisdictions from pick’em games to arena games to continue operating there.
Most recently, PrizePicks halted pick’em games in California, which doesn’t have legal sports betting. The Golden State’s Attorney General recently offered an opinion that DFS is illegal. PrizePicks got ahead of that announcement. The operator also offers games in Texas, giving it access to the two largest non-legal sports betting markets in the U.S.
PrizePicks also has numerous partnerships with MLB teams outside of those jurisdictions, including the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros, San Diego Padres, and San Francisco Giants.
