Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton at a press conference in Austin on Jan. 13, 2016.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton at a press conference in Austin on Jan. 13, 2016. Shelby Knowles/ Texas Tribune

Texas Attorney Generalย Ken Paxtonย wants a lawsuit filed against his office by fantasy sports siteย DraftKingsย moved to Travis County.ย 

In January, Paxton’s office issued an opinion equating fantasy sites like DraftKings and FanDuel to illegal gambling. FanDuel agreed to stop offering paid contests in the state, but DraftKings fought back, filing suit in Dallas County.ย In a motion filed Monday, Paxton argued that the company’s lawsuit should be moved from Dallas to Travis County, orย thatย the Dallas County court should dismiss it for โ€œlack of jurisdiction.โ€

In the lawsuit, DraftKings asks the court to issue a declaratory judgment that fantasy sports websites areย permissibleย under Texas law. The suit arguesย that fantasy sports โ€œare contests of skillโ€ and not chance, therefore they do not constitute gambling. The lawsuit equates fantasy sports to events like โ€œbass fishing, bull riding, stock picking, and even beauty pageants.โ€

Paxtonโ€™s motion claims the lawsuit was filed improperly because โ€œno substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise of this suit occurred in Dallas County.โ€

Lawyers for DraftKings have argued that the Dallas courts make the most sense. Representatives for the company did not return requests for comment Monday.ย 

โ€œMultiple customers based in Dallas County closed their accounts with DraftKings in the days following the publication of the Attorney Generalโ€™s opinion letter,โ€ the original lawsuit said.

A significant number of the Delaware-based companyโ€™s Texas customers live in the Dallas area, and the company has business partnerships with locally based organizations including the Dallas Cowboys, lawyer Robert Walters added.

Paxton has โ€œthrown the legality of DraftKingsโ€™ entire Dallas operation into doubt,โ€ he wrote.

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Madlin Mekelburg was a reporting fellow for the Tribune in 2015 and 2016. She is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, where she studied journalism and French. Madlin previously worked at the...

Jordan Rudner was a reporting fellow for The Texas Tribune in 2015-16. A Plan II and history major at the University of Texas at Austin, Jordan previously interned at KUT News and the Supreme Court of...