ESPN: Daily fantasy sports segments ‘will be evaluated day to day’

ESPN has temporarily removed sponsored fantasy segments from its programming.

Author:
SI Wire
Publish date:
Oct 6, 2015

Amid allegations that employees from the popular daily fantasy sports sites DraftKings and FanDuel have been using insider information to win large jackpots, ESPN has temporarily removed sponsored fantasy segments from its programming, Bob Ley reported on Outside the Lines.

“ESPN today continued running commercials for the two main daily sports fantasy companies, but has removed sponsored elements from within shows,” Ley said.

Deadspin then contacted ESPN to clarify whether or not the removal was temporary or permanent. A representative from the network told Deadspin that the segments have been pulled for today and will continue to be evaluated day to day. According to ESPN, it is “standard procedure” to remove sponsorships when they pertain to the breaking news.

On Monday, The New York Timesreported that Ethan Haskell, a DraftKings employee, admitted to leaking information about the players most frequently used in fantasy lineups on the site.

The data Haskell released is made public by the site only after lineups have been finalized. If the data is obtained ahead of time, it can give fantasy players an advantage. Haskell won $350,000 playing on FanDuel that week, according to the Times.

Both DraftKings and FanDuel have temporarily banned their employees from participating in betting on fantasy sports. - Xandria James

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