Opinion: Test your strategic skills in daily fantasy sports

Daily fantasy sports have grown dramatically in recent years, especially football. The demand for one-week fantasy games is at an all-time high. The Fantasy Sports Trade Association compared numbers of players from 2009 to 2017 and found that the number of people playing fantasy sports has more than doubled — 28.4 million to 59.3 million.

It is up to state governments to classify daily fantasy as either a game of skill or as gambling. Most states have recognized the skill involved with these sports. However, New York and Minnesota have decided to classify daily fantasy as gambling, making it illegal based on federal anti-gambling legislation.

Daily fantasy sports should be viewed as games of skill. They should be given the same legal protections as season-long fantasy games. There are several key distinctions between betting on sports and daily fantasy sites like DraftKings and Fan Duel.

Daily fantasy involves choosing a group of athletes who are competing in real-life sporting events that day. Every player has a price associated with them, and the fantasy player has a cap amount of money he or she can spend. Better players have a higher price, and the fantasy player must balance these different price ranges to fill their roster for the day’s competition.

This is different from regular sports betting based on fixed lines because there are many more variables to consider. In fantasy, instead of choosing an entire team, the person can choose players from any team competing that day.

Being able to mix and match players to fill a roster means that there are several specific variables that a good fantasy player must pay attention to.

Nathaniel Ehrman, writing in the Sports Lawyers Journal, describes that a player “must know more than simple depth charts and statistics to win; they also must take into account injuries, coaching styles, weather patterns, prospects, home and away statistics and many other pieces of information.”

These various aspects translate into real life results. Seth Young is an online contributor for the Legal Sports Reports website, and he created a simulator that studied the abilities of “skilled” fantasy players in comparison to an average player. The study showed that skilled players won 70 percent of the games that the simulator played.

Season-long fantasy players must consider injuries, matchups and player tendencies when deciding which players to start in their lineup and which players to bench. The time invested in studying the game translates to success in a fantasy league.

Daily fantasy is the same way. A successful player must study matchups, player statistics and many other factors when deciding which ones to select.

Just because a pay-to-play fee is required of daily fantasy players does not mean that it is gambling, in the same way that a pay-in chess tournament would not be gambling. Parents across the country invest thousands of dollars into their children’s youth sports with the hope that their investment will translate into college and professional success. These investments are no less of a risk than playing fantasy sports, but they are not gambling.

Daily fantasy is a risk. People pay to compete in these leagues, and obviously, not all of them will win.

The best players know that they have the skills to manage a successful league and the time commitment to do the appropriate research. That translates into real results, real wins and real money.