Payment processing company Vantiv—like a child stuck in the middle of warring parents—is turning to the courts for some much needed clarity on the controversy surrounding daily fantasy sports operators DraftKings and FanDuel.
The Greater Cincinnati-based company has filed a lawsuit asking the New York state Supreme Court to, essentially, intervene and decide whether it should go ahead with processing payments for DraftKings, the Cincinnati Business Courier reported.
Vantiv has been in charge of processing payments for daily fantasy sports firms operating in New York for years, until November last year, when New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman ordered DraftKings to stopped accepting bets from customers in the state. In his cease and desist orders to DFS operators, Schneiderman gave DraftKings and FanDuel five days to cut ties with an estimated 1.1 million customers the two operators deal with in New York.
According to the Business Courier report, Vantiv asked DraftKings to confirm the AG order, but the daily fantasy sports operator was able to get a temporary order, preventing Vantiv from stopping its payment processing services with DraftKings’ customers.
Then on Dec. 11, Schneiderman got a nod from the New York Supreme Court to prevent DFS operators from accepting bets in the state. The undeterred DraftKings, however, was able to appeal that order. So, all’s well that ends well?
Apparently, not.
In its lawsuit, Vantiv said it “is substantially impacted by these conflicting court decisions,” explaining that the conflict between the New York Supreme Court’s decision and DraftKings’ temporary restraining order resulted in a “substantial uncertainty” over what the company should do regarding payment processing.
Contrary to reports, Vantiv isn’t suing DraftKings. But the payments processing company named both the DFS operator and the New York Attorney General as defendants in its lawsuit.
DraftKings and its archrival FanDuel vowed to continue serving New York players despite the legal snafu they are currently in. FanDuel CEO Nigel Eccles previous said it is already “making its own legal decisions about how to proceed.
