Are fantasy sport websites corrupt?

On October 16, 2015 The Dallas Morning News posted the article, “Of course daily fantasy sports is gambling,” by Mike Drago. The blog highlights the business and corruption of unregulated fantasy sports websites, websites where people can gamble daily on their favorite teams in hopes to score big bucks. The author uses logos and references multiple sources throughout his blog to actively inform his audience about this online monopoly.

Mike Drago wrote this blog mainly to inform sports enthusiast and the general public about a growing business that is essentially immune to government laws. The author uses the appeal of logos to inform his readers what fantasy sports gambling is. Once readers understand how these gambling sites operate, Drago explains how effective lobbying from major sports associations has exempted fantasy sports from online gaming regulation laws. Being a student who’s in Texas Government, I was surprised to see a real life instance of lobbying and how influential these lobbyist were in legislation. From the general public’s point of view, this lobbyist influence would be threatening because there is nothing that can inhibit these online websites from taking money from others. Drago does a good job at highlighting the threat these fantasy sports websites have on politics.

The author uses embedded links to other sources to help build credibility in his argument. The author uses information from outside sources such as The New York Times, BostInno, and ESPN to show that his opinions and research are not based on his own thoughts. What’s worth noting is that all these sources appeal mainly to the general audience also. The author uses these references to explain scandals, politics, and investigations revolving around fantasy sports. By providing evidence from other sources, Mike Drago shows that his ideas are trust worthy and factual.

 Mike Drago is an assistant editorial page editor for the Dallas Morning News. Before becoming a part of the Dallas Morning News, Mike was the vice president of a marketing and public relations firm and also worked as a reporter and editor for 22 years. Much of Mike Drago’s blogs and editorial talk about business and public relations. With that being said, “Of course daily fantasy sports is gambling” shows to be an honest and truthful blog about recent American public relations. Overall I agree with Mike Drago’s ideas and anticipate any other public relations opinion he will post in the future. 


(A picture of a FanDuel advertisement and how this fantasy sports website tries to appeal to people.)