Two South Florida men are filing legal action against the FanDuel and DraftKings fantasy leagues claiming they're unfair because employees and insiders had valuable information they didn't and it cost them money.
Television ads for the online sports fantasy site FanDuel tout the fun and DraftKings promotes the winnings. But the legal action filed in Federal court in Miami alleges the games are breaking Florida law and federal law too.
"There are a number of people, probably in the millions, that thought they were playing a game and thought they had an opportunity to make money and in reality they were just ripped off of their hard earned dollars," Coral Gables attorney Ervin Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez represents the Miami and Fort Lauderdale residents who came forward alleging the games aren't giving them a fair chance.
The lawsuit claims defendants DraftKings and FanDuel have failed to disclose that Apex predator and Shark bettors have an unfair advantage by obtaining better information, a situation that is tantamount to insider trading because the information was not provided to members.
"If we had full disclosure and we knew what was really going on I think most people would not be putting their bets on FanDuel or DraftKings," Gonzalez said.
NBC 6 reached out to FanDuel and DraftKings Monday but did not hear back from them yet. They previously told NBC News that nothing is more important than the integrity of their games and they basically stopped their employees from playing fantasy contests for money.
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The lawsuit says the fantasy sites took in $60 million in just the first week of the NFL season but they failed to inform or disclose that employees are privy to crucial statistical information, including lineup data, insider information that the members do not have access to.
"The industry is a billion dollar industry and needs to be regulated," Gonzalez said. "Right now they are acting like the wild wild west. We need to have rules in place, we need to have supervision, it needs to be regulated, it needs to be licensed."
NBC's Parent Company Comcast and NBC Sports have invested in Fan Duel.
