{"id":1016,"date":"2025-09-12T02:47:36","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T02:47:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/?p=1016"},"modified":"2025-09-29T12:08:55","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T12:08:55","slug":"california-class-action-suit-against-fanduel-droppedfor-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/12\/california-class-action-suit-against-fanduel-droppedfor-now\/","title":{"rendered":"California Class Action Suit Against FanDuel Dropped\u2026For Now"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li><strong>Plaintiff voluntarily temporarily withdraws suit filed in July<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Could be a sign a settlement is in the works<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p>The plaintiff in a California class action suit against FanDuel has voluntarily withdrawn his complaint, indicating that at least for now, the gaming company is avoiding prolonged litigation in the state.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_361344\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-361344\" data-style=\"width: 858px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-361344 size-post-thumbnail-858xAUTO lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" alt=\"California sports betting referendum\" width=\"858\" height=\"572\" data-src=\"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/shutterstock_642199051-858x572-1.jpg\"><figcaption>A California man withdrew a class action suit against FanDuel. (Image: Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Martin Beltran filed the suit in July, alleging that FanDuel\u2019s daily fantasy sports (DFS) contests are wagering, not games of skill, and thus should be illegal in California because <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/california-sports-betting-fields-robust-support\/\">the state does not permit<\/a> sports betting. Beltran brought the litigation on his behalf and those of \u201csimilarly situated Californians\u201d in an effort to recoup money they believe the gaming company \u201cunlawfully took from them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The suit filed in US District Court for the Northern District of California alleges FanDuel violated California penal code because it accepted client cash on events with contingencies or unknown outcomes.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"main-blockquote\">\n<p>Put simply, a company violates California Penal Code Section 337a when it engages in pool selling, bookmaking, or accepts or records any bets or wagers on the result of any contest and\/or any unknown or contingent event whatsoever\u2014including, without limitation, bets associated with the performance of persons, such as in fantasy sport,\u201d according to a July legal document.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>A unit of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/flutter-stock-earns-spot-on-goldman-hedge-fund-vip-list\/\">Flutter Entertainment<\/a> (NYSE: FLUT), FanDuel has offered DFS games in California since 2015. In seeking a declaratory judgment, counsel for Beltran and the class claimed FanDuel violated California\u2019s unfair competition law and the state\u2019s Consumer Legal Remedies Act.<\/p>\n<h2>What\u2019s Next in FanDuel California Legal Rift?<\/h2>\n<p>A Sept. 8 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aboutlawsuits.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025-09-08-Notice.pdf\">Notice of Voluntary Dismissal<\/a> confirms that Beltran\u2019s suit has been pulled, but FanDuel let the litigation be withdrawn without prejudice, meaning it can be filed again in the future. There\u2019s also a <a href=\"https:\/\/uk.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com\/w-009-9004?transitionType=Default&amp;contextData=(sc.Default)&amp;firstPage=true\">tolling agreement<\/a> in place, which allows the class to renew the litigation even after the statute of limitations expires.<\/p>\n<div class=\"callout\">\n<p>Some legal experts consider the combination of voluntary dismissals and tolling agreements to be a sign the involved parties are working on a resolution. If a settlement cannot be reached, the tolling agreement allows the suit to be filed anew. Neither counsel for the class nor FanDuel have publicly stated that such talks are taking place.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>It could also be worth noting that the Beltran suit didn\u2019t focus on FanDuel\u2019s purported attempts to exploit vulnerable bettors. Rather, the litigation emphasized the argument DFS operators run afoul of California law because sports betting was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/voters-still-tepid-on-california-sports-betting\/\">soundly rejected by voters<\/a> there in 2022.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cIn fact, as the California legislature re-affirmed in 2008, \u2018no person in this state has a right to operate a gambling enterprise except as may be expressly permitted by the laws of this state,\u201d said the Beltran suit, citing the state\u2019s business and professional code.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>Future of DFS Grim in California<\/h2>\n<p>Interestingly, the Beltran suit was filed in the same month in which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/underdog-fantasy-sues-to-block-californias-anticipated-dfs-ban\/\">California effectively banned DFS<\/a>, deeming it an illegal form of wagering under state law. That could be somewhat problematic for smaller, DFS-dependent operators because California is the largest revenue driver for the DFS industry.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The ban is also another reminder that in California, tribal casino operators wield significant power regarding gaming expansion and if they\u2019re not on board with offerings that run counter to their own interests, it\u2019s a tough road to travel for the competition.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Tribal operators <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/schiff-presses-quintenz-on-event-contracts-tribal-sovereignty\/\">have exclusivity agreements<\/a> with California, meaning they control matters of gaming expansion in the state. They also exert significant political influence in the state, implying it could be difficult for DFS operators to find favorable legal remedies for remaining in the Golden State.<\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/california-class-action-suit-against-fanduel-droppedfor-now\/\">California Class Action Suit Against FanDuel Dropped\u2026For Now<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\">Casino.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Plaintiff voluntarily temporarily withdraws suit filed in July Could be a sign a settlement is in the works The plaintiff in a California class action suit against FanDuel has voluntarily withdrawn his complaint, indicating that at least for now, the gaming company is avoiding prolonged litigation in the state. A California man withdrew a class action suit against FanDuel. (Image: [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1018,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1016"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1016"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1016\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1019,"href":"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1016\/revisions\/1019"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}