By Kirk Geller ’16 | 

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced in early November that he considers daily fantasy sports as illegal gambling in the state.

Schneiderman has sent cease-and-desist notices to the two highest-profile daily fantasy sports sites, DraftKings and FanDuel. Schneiderman demanded that the two popular businesses stop accepting wagers from anyone using the sites in New York state.

“Our review concludes that DraftKings and FanDuels operations constitute illegal gambling under New York law,” Schneiderman said in a letter obtained by networks ESPN and ABC News.

Daily fantasy sites argue that their sites and businesses are based on games of skill, not wagers, and have used the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 to support their claims as legal operations.

DraftKings and FanDuel have gained major popularity in fantasy football over the past few years, attempting to clear out the older year-long format.

Schneiderman said that the customers of the two largest daily fantasy sites “are clearly placing bets on events outside their control of influence, specifically on the real game performance of professional athletes.”

Gambling is illegal in many different states due to its nature, obviously not including well-known destinations such as Las Vegas and Atlantic City, although the ladder slowly loses popularity due to the tourism industry.

Other states have been active in figuring out the future of daily fantasy within their communities. In October, a representative in Illinois submitted the first daily fantasy regulation bill, and both officials from New Jersey and Pennsylvania held hearings regarding weekly fantasy formats in early November.

“Fantasy sports is a game of skill and legal under New York State law,” FanDuel said in a statement. “This is a politician telling hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers they are not allowed to play a game they love and share with friends, family, coworkers and players across the country.”

“We are very disappointed that New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman took such hasty action today,” DraftKings said in their own argument. “We strongly disagree with the reasoning in his opinion and will examine and vigorously pursue all legal options to ensure customers in New York State can continue to play the fantasy sports games they love.”

DraftKings and FanDuel asked Justice Manuel Mendez for an injuction, stating that the attorney general has wrongly accused their businesses of false accusations.

Justice Mendez has already declined and both sites will no longer be able to provide their services in New York.

“They have not taken action yet to somehow enjoin the plaintiff from continuing to engage in there business here in New York,” Mendez said. Both sites were ordered to return to court on Nov. 25.

FanDuel and DraftKings both had hundreds of thousands of players in New York state.

Arizona, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana and Washington prohibit fantasy sports for money. Several additional states do not allow forms of weekly fantasy sites for their communities due to their relations with gambling.