Although senior Noah Taffel puts hours, even days, into tweaking and altering a lineup of players, he still does not expect to win a fantasy sports contest.

When Taffel began to compete in basketball contests on DraftKings, he said he won many prizes because more payouts are given out as the number of contestants increases.

An opinion issued by the Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan states  that DraftKings is considered illegal  in the state of Illinois and violates the Criminal Code.

According to DraftKings’ website, DraftKings is a skill-based daily fantasy sports company in which cash and prizes are given to participants of ages 18 and older who compete in online contests across a large variety of professional and collegiate sports.

Earlier this year, Taffel said he won a college basketball contest on DraftKings after picking out a good lineup.

“You have a budget of $60,000 [virtual] dollars to spend, and each player is a different value with [the] best players being most expensive,” said Taffel. “Then you assemble your lineup by using all your money to try to make the lineup you think will perform the best.”

According to Ryan Toohey, communications consultant hired by DraftKings, many states allow DraftKings to operate because their laws only state  that online games of chance constitute illegal gambling.

Eileen Boyce, Illinois senior press secretary, said the office of the Attorney General views wagering on DraftKings  as illegal because Illinois law states that online games of both chance and skill are considered gambling.

Madigan’s opinion said DraftKings has assured they have not committed another offense of illegal gambling included in Illinois Criminal Code, which expresses that “actual contestants” who participate in a game cannot bet on a contest in which their game is involved because they directly determine the outcome of the game.

When Taffel said he first heard that the legality of DraftKings was being questioned, it bothered him.

“I think it would definitely irritate me [if DraftKings was banned] in the sense that I definitely believe, as it’s considered now, that it is a skill game,” Taffel said.

Boyce said DraftKings has made the argument that contestants select specific players based on their skill, so the contestants who participate in an online contest on DraftKings are viewed differently than contestants who wager on the outcome of an game as stated in Madigan’s opinion and the Illinois Criminal Code.

   Taffel said it is fun and exciting when he wins a contest on DraftKings because he feels he puts a lot of preparation into assembling a good lineup, often consulting websites to access player information.

Despite the controversy surrounding the legality of DraftKings, Taffel said he still regards the website very highly.

“There’s never been any conflicts with [DraftKings],” said Taffel. “I think it’s a very well-run website.”

Boyce said as of right now, DraftKings is still operating in the state of Illinois and is waiting for a ruling by the court.

Taffel said something the company does especially well is it forces contestants to turn on their location services to verify that they are playing in a state where it is legal to play.

Toohey said the company is working with the office of the Attorney General and the Illinois legislature to clarify the legality of DraftKings and to set up a regulatory framework. DraftKings is also undergoing a series of protections to ensure this issue does not come up again in the future.

Taffel sided with DraftKings and said he firmly believes daily fantasy sports should not have any bans against them.

“If you’re placing a bet and if you’re gambling, anyone can randomly win,” said Taffel. “You can go and pick a horse and get lucky, but you can’t just pick 10 or 11 random players and win. It’s just not going to work.”