Every DFS service would probably say its games are the most enjoyable and/or the most unique. But fanDaction, according to several DFS experts with whom Crain’s spoke, does have a one-of-a-kind service it just started rolling out.

Ross partnered with Jerry Bishop, whose Superior Games used to make kiosks for internet gaming, to produce DFS registration kiosks that will be placed in sports bars around the country. Bishop said the kiosks, which are 21 inches wide and stand four feet, provide a simple service to bar patrons who want to participate in a fanDaction contest. “This is strictly a registration device,” Bishop said. Any DFS player can play from the comforts of home or on the go via their mobile device. The biggest benefit of the kiosk, though, is it allows a bar or a group of bars to hold a private, in-person contest — one for which the players have to sign up on location. All deposits and payouts are done digitally via fanDaction, as is the case with any DFS provider. But the kiosks give the bars the chance to run a short contest for those on hand — a first-half NFL contest, for instance — or compete against other participating bars in a series of competitions. “People don’t think about kiosks in a sports bar because all they think about is online,” Ross said. “My best way to ever attract a gambler is in a sports bar.” The first fanDaction kiosk, made by Bishop’s Akron-based Sports Fantasy Today LLC, was scheduled to be delivered to Whiskey Ranch CAK, located near the Akron/Canton Airport, on Friday, June 17. Bishop said he has 50 kiosks in stock, and he can make many more. He’s already got dealers lined up in six states, counting Ohio. As many as four or five Northeast Ohio locations could have the kiosks within the next week, he said. Ross said the kiosks cost $2,200, an amount that is paid by an entrepreneur who wants to cut a deal with an establishment that wants to host in-person DFS contests. The entrepreneur gets a cut of the proceeds produced by the competition, and he or she can then share some of the revenue with the bar, depending on the agreement the parties strike. Bishop and Ross say the most obvious benefit for a bar is the kiosks are a marketing tool to bring in customers. As far as anyone knows, they’re perfectly legal. Jessica Franks, the director of communications for the Ohio Casino Control Commission, hadn’t heard of a DFS kiosk until she was asked about fanDaction by Crain’s. Franks said that, as the state gambling laws are currently written, DFS doesn’t “really fit neatly into the definition of casino gaming.” But, she added, unless legislators decide to regulate DFS at the state level, the industry will continue to exist in a gray area. “How is it ultimately defined? That’s a question we’re waiting to be answered,” Franks said. Geoffrey Rapp, the associate dean for academic affairs at the University of Toledo College of Law, said DFS kiosks seem like “a natural evolution from video poker terminals and lottery ticket vending machines.” He warned, however, that “physical kiosks are much more susceptible to regulatory interference.” And if DFS ends up being labeled as gambling by state or federal legislators, “there may be concerns for the holders of liquor licenses” at which the kiosks are housed, Rapp said. Ross isn’t worried. “My decision is a simple decision,” he said. “Either a state is operating under the federal law (which classifies DFS as a game of skill), or they don’t believe it and want to challenge it like some of the attorney generals did. If there’s a state that challenges it, we won’t do business in that state.” Rose, the baseball legend who knows a thing or two about scrutiny, made sure to point out that Major League Baseball has an ownership stake in DraftKings, which, along with FanDuel, is one of the DFS industry’s two under-fire heavyweights. “Don’t forget, the commissioner said it’s not gambling,” Rose said.