You aren't going to win big playing fantasy sports

If you've watched TV for more than 3 minutes in the last month you've seen ads for FanDuel or DraftKings. They are everywhere. Fantasy sports seem to have taken a giant leap overnight. The mega win expectations laid out in the ads are clearly too good to be true, but is the industry too new to back up this feeling? Turns out it's not. An aptly titled article in Bloomberg Businessweek, 'You Aren't Good Enough to Win Money Playing Daily Fantasy Football,' dives deep into the world of competitive fantasy sports. I loved the article so invited one of the authors, Ira Boudway, to be on The Pete the Planner Radio Show this past week.

Our conversation was FASCINATING. I knew I had a hinky feeling about those commercials, but Ira's research took it to the next level. Both DraftKings and FanDuel raised major funds in the off-season and have put those funds into the intense ad campaigns we've all been subjected to the past few weeks. What's more fascinating, is how this particular type of sports betting has been able to avoid the legal definition of gambling. Turns out that because fantasy sports requires some skill, these companies are able to run as normal businesses without the restrictions and regulations normally associated with gambling. It's also probably a big part of why major sports teams and sports associations are jumping on board as partners. What better way to incentivize your audience to watch more games and be more invested in a sport than when there are millions of dollars dangling in front of them as a prize?

But here's the catch. Only 1.3% of players will finish in the green. How is that possible? Because the top tier of players are too good. They are sharks, using sophisticated (even custom built) software and algorithms to beat new and inexperience players.

I'm grossly fascinated by how this movement will pan out. Check out my interview with Ira here:

Courtesy of WIBC.