(Reuters) - Fantasy sports contests constitute illegal gambling under Tennessee law, the state attorney general said this week in an opinion about the multibillion-dollar online industry whose legality has been challenged in states nationwide.
"A person who knowingly engages in 'gambling' commits a punishable offense," the office of Herbert Slatery III, Tennessee Attorney General, said in the opinion released on Tuesday.
"Absent legislation specifically exempting fantasy sports contests from the definition of 'gambling,' these contests constitute illegal gambling under Tennessee law," the three-page opinion added.
Participants may win a share of a cash prize, which their entry fees help fund, depending on actual athletes' performances, the opinion said.