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SportsTranscript
00:00This lawsuit that's going on in Maryland where the state is suing sports betting operators, FanDuel and DraftKings, basically intimating that some, you know, semi promises were being made regarding bonuses and maybe, you know, I'm not even sure really how far they're trying to go with this, but they're moving this, I guess, in terms of venue.
00:20To me, Sam, to break it down a little bit further, this is a little bit of a landmark case here in the United States, because if the state of Maryland wins, and it says that FanDuel and DraftKings are not operating correctly and enticing people to bet on sports, then these companies are going to have to change the way that they promote their ads.
00:38Definitely a really fascinating case.
00:40We've seen rules around the way you can promote ads and bonus bets, which are the target of this lawsuit in Baltimore.
00:46We've seen those change drastically, you know, sports books can no longer say risk free or free bet.
00:51The language they've had to do that has changed a lot.
00:53And Baltimore here is suing DraftKings and FanDuel, alleging that, you know, their practices are not only dishonest, alleging that the bonus bets and promos they give exploit the most vulnerable at risk residents and violate the city's consumer protection laws.
01:10So it moved now from local court in Baltimore to federal court, which comes because FanDuel and DraftKings filed this thing called a notice for removal, which basically means when you're suing two companies that don't exist in the state of Maryland, they're not headquartered there, and it's more than $75,000 at stake.
01:29It's quite a lot more, you can then move it to federal court.
01:32So it'll be in the U.S. District Court for Maryland, where you'll now have a federal judge residing over this.
01:37You'll have a federal jury.
01:38So it could be beneficial for DraftKings trying to, you know, avoid like a local hometown ruling with the jury there.
01:46But they haven't actually responded to the lawsuit yet.
01:49Their response is due in July, where we'll make the case of why it should be dismissed.
01:53And they've gone on record and talked about, you know, the companies that actually facilitate these bets, our partners aren't even named in the suit.
02:01So they're going to really be trying to get this thrown out and dismissed.
02:04If that doesn't happen, if we get past that July date, if we get past the August date where the company's responses is due, then we'll really, really be watching this.
02:13And yeah, like you said, if they win this case, it could have monumental impact on the rest of the country.
02:18And just kind of the way we get bonus bets, the way we talk about promotions, and certainly for companies like DraftKings and FanDuel, which, whether right or wrong, they're the top dogs in the space.
02:27They're the only targets of this lawsuit, not the other competitors.
02:29So, again, a really interesting lawsuit from Baltimore.
02:32We'll be watching to see how this develops and waiting for the response from DraftKings and FanDuel.
02:36But now in federal court, no longer in district court, which is sort of a small win for the companies being sued so far.
02:42But we'll have to see what happens.