Mich. Admin. Code R. 432.531

Current through Vol. 24-15, September 1, 2024

Section R. 432.531 - Fantasy contests and athletic events

Rule 531.

(1) A fantasy contest operator or licensed management company may only offer or conduct a fantasy contest that meets all of the conditions established in section 2(d) of the act, MCL 432.502. A fantasy contest platform must be designed to prevent all of the following:

(a) A fantasy contest player from submitting a fantasy contest team composed of the entire roster of a real-world sports team.

(b) A fantasy contest player from submitting a fantasy contest team composed entirely of individual athletes who are members of the same real-world sports team.

(c) A fantasy contest player from submitting a fantasy contest team composed of a single athlete.

(2) A fantasy contest operator or licensed management company may only offer or conduct a fantasy contest that is based on an athletic event, as that term is defined in section 2 of the act, MCL 432.502. A fantasy contest operator or licensed management company must not offer or conduct a fantasy contest that is based, in whole or in part, on a prohibited athletic event.

(3) Unless otherwise approved by the board, a fantasy contest operator or licensed management company may not offer or allow any of the following:

(a) Any means of fantasy contest team selection or assembly that does not involve the knowledge and skill of a fantasy contest player, including, but not limited to, all of the following:

(i) Auto draft functionality, except in the case of a fantasy contest in which a fantasy contest player is required to exert knowledge and skill to rank, prioritize, or queue athletes prior to the draft or to assemble 1 or more fantasy contest teams from his or her pool of drafted athletes.

(ii) A fantasy contest player choosing from pre-selected fantasy contest teams.

(iii) Any other means of fantasy contest team selection or assembly that does not involve the input or control of a fantasy contest player.

(b) Proposition selection or fantasy contests that have the effect of mimicking proposition selection.

(c) Any fantasy contests that involve, result in, or have the effect of mimicking betting on sports.

(d) Any fantasy contest in which any statistical results of the performance of any individual athletes that determine the outcome of the fantasy contest have been partially or completely determined and are publicly known at the time any entry is accepted.

(e) Any fantasy contests prohibited by the board or by state or federal law.

(4) A fantasy contest operator or licensed management company shall only offer fantasy contests for which all of the following apply:

(a) All underlying athletic events can be effectively supervised by a sports governing body and are subject to integrity safeguards.

(b) The statistical results of the performance of the individual athletes that are aggregated to determine the outcome of the fantasy contest meet all of the following:

(i) Can be documented and verified.

(ii) Can be generated by a reliable and independent process.

(iii) Are not affected by any fantasy contests or fantasy contest entries.

(iv) Are complete, accurate, reliable, timely, and available.

(c) The fantasy contest and all underlying athletic events are conducted in conformity with all applicable laws.

(5) The board reserves the right to do any of the following to protect the integrity of fantasy contests or for any other reason the board considers appropriate:

(a) Prohibit, limit, restrict, or condition the conduct of any fantasy contest.

(b) Prohibit, limit, restrict, or condition the conduct of fantasy contests based on a particular athletic event or type of athletic event.

(c) Order cancellation of fantasy contest entries and require the refund of the related entry fees.

(6) A fantasy contest operator or licensed management company must maintain a master list of all fantasy contests it offers fantasy contest players. The master list must contain information sufficient to verify compliance with the definitions of athletic event and fantasy contest under section 2 of the act, MCL 432.502. The fantasy contest operator or licensed management company must provide the master list to the board on request.

(7) If it is determined that a fantasy contest operator or licensed management company offered or offers a fantasy contest that is prohibited by these rules or an applicable state or federal law, the fantasy contest operator or licensed management company must do either of the following:

(a) If none of the underlying athletic events have commenced, the fantasy contest operator or licensed management company must immediately cancel all fantasy contest entries and refund all related entry fees. The fantasy contest operator or licensed management company must promptly notify the board after cancelling the fantasy contest entries and returning the entry fees.

(b) If any of the underlying athletic events are in progress or have been completed, the fantasy contest operator or licensed management company must immediately notify the board and submit proposed corrective action for board review and approval. The proposed corrective action must include, but is not limited to, an explanation of how the fantasy contest operator or licensed management company proposes to address fantasy contest entries and entry fees.

Mich. Admin. Code R. 432.531

2023 MR 20, Eff. 10/11/2023