The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston is investigating for-profit fantasy sports services DraftKings and FanDuel to determine whether the competitors’ employees are manipulating the online games using insider information to reap prize money, CNNMoney reported Thursday.
Last week the two services confirmed that a DraftKing employee had won $350,000 in prize money in a FanDuel game. The employee had access to confidential company data, although both services contended that he did not have the information before making his choices in the FanDuel game and did nothing improper. Both sites have since banned their workers of any service from playing fantasy sports for money.
The investigation follows on the heels of last week’s announcement by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman that he was probing the two services. Members of Congress are calling for hearings on the matter, federal oversight by agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission, and possible legislative action.
Moreover, other players have filed lawsuits against the sites, claiming that they were financially harmed by the fact that so many fantasy site employees win prizes.
Still, the sites continue to attract more players, and DraftKings and FanDuel both had their best weeks ever last weekend. DraftKings enables consumers to compete for cash prizes in all five major U.S. sports and college football and basketball.