Last night on Last Week Tonight, John Oliver spent most of the show explaining all the reasons he’s pretty sure that daily fantasy sports sites — like DraftKings and FanDuel, which were both told to stop running in New York last week — are exactly like gambling. The companies protest that the game is instead a skill-based game that anyone can win — which Oliver said is like noting that he could be the next James Bond.
Then there is the fact that people keep comparing fantasy sports to poker. “They’re basically saying,” Oliver added, “‘If you love poker, you’ll love DraftKings — for completely unrelated reasons!’” The segment ends with slightly altered FanDuel and DraftKings ads, featuring Seth Rogen, Mike Birbiglia, Kathryn Hahn, Adam Pally, and a few other comedy stars. It seems unlikely that the companies — which also were told to stop running in Nevada until they acquired a gambling license and are being investigated by the Justice Department — will find them amusing.
