Anticipating a positive outcome to the Christie v NCAA federal lawsuit currently being considered by the United States Supreme Court, daily fantasy sports operator DraftKings has announced the hiring of Sean Hurley to serve as its new Head of Sportsbook.
DraftKings stated that Hurley previously worked as Head of Commercial for London-based sportsbetting solutions provider Amelco UK Limited and has ‘gained extensive knowledge of the iGaming space’ courtesy of previous senior roles for firms operating in the business-to-business and business-to-consumer verticals.
“Sean brings a wealth of gaming experience to DraftKings and furthers our ability to be a leader in the sportsbetting market,” read a statement from Matt Kalish, Chief Revenue Officer for Boston-headquartered DraftKings.
DraftKings declared that Hurley is to be based out of its satellite office in Hoboken, New Jersey, and will ‘focus on preparing sportsbook as a potential new line of business’ as it awaits a decision from the United States Supreme Court regarding the legality of the current sportsbetting prohibition tied to the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA).
Introduced in 1992, PASPA instituted a nationwide ban on all sportsbetting in the United States with the exceptions of venues located in the states of Delaware, Oregon, Nevada and Montana. New Jersey could have become the fifth member of this exclusive club but was unable to pass enabling legislation within the required window of opportunity and launched the Christie v NCAA federal lawsuit in 2013 in an effort to change the current state of affairs. After going through the lower courts, this complaint was heard by the nine-member United States Supreme Court in December with the nation’s highest judicial body now widely expected to hand down a final ruling by the end of the year.