DraftKings and FanDuel suspend college daily fantasy games

Daily fantasy sports operators DraftKings and FanDuel are suspending their college sports contests indefinitely following the conclusion on this weekend’s Final Four.

"We appreciate and commend DraftKings and FanDuel's action to stop offering contests involving college, high school and youth sports," NCAA president Mark Emmert said in a statement Thursday. "This action culminates months of hard work between all parties to reach a place that is good for amateur sports and most importantly, the young people who participate. We will work diligently with our member schools over the coming year to ensure such amateur sports 'carve outs' are included in pending states' legislation."

The NCAA has long considered daily fantasy a form of sports wagering, which is against NCAA rules. The entity that governs all college sports has worried that daily fantasy might put student athletes in awkward positions where classmates ask them for insider information.

In October, the NCAA told DraftKings and FanDuel they could not advertise during championship events despite the fact that individual conferences were allowing daily fantasy sites to advertise during their games.

In late January, former Northern Illinois running back Akeem Daniels filed a federal lawsuit against DraftKings and FanDuel seeking $5 million in damages. Daniels claimed the daily fantasy sites used his name to generate millions of dollars in revenue. He also said the daily fantasy sites opened himself and several other players up to allegations of point-shaving and fixing, and created “an unwanted state of fear and concern of the risk of being contacted by speculators who have a financial interest."

The lawsuit mentions 15 other NIU players that were used in daily fantasy games. The case is still pending.

According to ESPN, college sports represent just 3 percent of FanDuel’s annual revenue and DraftKings said its NFL games bring in 10 to 20 times more than college football does.

Editor’s note: Yahoo Sports has Daily Fantasy games. Yahoo recently announced Fair Play on Yahoo Sports Daily Fantasy, which features important changes to help level the playing field, making contests more transparent for all users.

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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @YahooDrSaturday

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