A fantasy league is game where the participants (team builders) create ‘imaginary’ or ‘virtual teams’ using the proxies of real players.  Normally, these fantasy teams are selected at the beginning of the real sport season. A group of participants get together and “draft” players from real teams.

To calculate which team is the winner, the participants use the statistical performance of the real players in real matches. The calculations are usually done based on the performances each week. The fantasy team whose players score the most “fantasy points” wins the week. This process is repeated every week over the course of a sport season.

The imaginary team that gets the most points wins the league and there might be a prize or not. Whether the winner will receive money, or some other form of payment depends on who is operating the league and what the participants agree to. Fantasy leagues are often facilitated by online operators. There are also many leagues formed and run by groups of friends/coworkers etc.

The main difference between fantasy sports and sports betting is that sports betting involves putting money down on specific outcomes of real games. In contrast, fantasy sports betting involves earning points for your fantasy team based on the performance of the real players.

The most popular fantasy leagues are football and baseball.

Is fantasy league betting legal?

Fantasy league betting, known as pay-to-play sport betting is considered a form of gambling under the Canadian Criminal Code.

In Ontario, pay-to-play fantasy sports betting is permitted under the AGCO’s internet gaming standards. Operators who have been registered by the AGCO and have entered into an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario are permitted to offer pay-to-play fantasy sports once they go live in Ontario’s new igaming market. 

Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS)

DFS is similar to fantasy leagues in that it allows fans to act as sports ‘managers’ by selecting their own roster of professional players from a number of different sports, who will be competing on the same day. These rosters compete with rosters of other ‘managers’ using the real player statistics from that day to determine the day’s fantasy roster winners.

This process is repeated on a daily basis with managers starting fresh on their selections. People can play whenever they want and are not obligated to play throughout a sports season.

The legality of DFS is controversial and is under review in the U.S. In Canada, it is likely that DFS is illegal, however, government and law enforcement are not actively taking steps to regulate it.

								
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