Things are changing at DraftKings DFS. The fantasy site sent out an e-mail to customers today announcing a new prohibition against automated lineup management tools. Meanwhile, ESPN has reported on two other changes that include limiting how many times a single player may enter into some types of contests and plans to identify experienced players.

All three of these changes seem to be aimed at leveling the field between casual players and pros in light of recent accusations from certain lawmakers that daily fantasy contests are heavily skewed in favor of hardcore grinders. For example, the Attorney General of New York recently described daily fantasy as pure gambling while simultaneously claiming that a small number of highly skilled players win a large portion of all prizes paid out in contests.

No More Scripts at DraftKings

If you have a DraftKings account, you may have already seen the e-mail. It went out earlier today to all customers and explains that DraftKings will no longer allow players to use automated tools (scripts) for help in building and managing large numbers of lineups. DraftKings will now be banning third party scripts, but they have introduced a new on-site tool that will still allow players to manage multiple lineups.

The use of third-party scripts has been a source of contention among the daily fantasy community. On the one one hand, scripts come in super handy for people managing hundreds of lineups. These scripts allow players to quickly add and remove players across multiple lineups and then enter those lineups into many contests with just a few clicks of the mouse. Third party scripts were major timesavers for grinders.

However, the DFS community has also expressed concerns with the widespread use of these scripts to fleece newbies. Fantasy sites benefit from grinders who enter hundreds of contests and help inflate prize pools, but they also need casual players to continue playing and depositing to keep the economy moving. If casual players lose their cash too quickly and constantly see the same names across hundreds of contests, they’re likely to deem daily fantasy too hard or too shark-infested to be worthwhile.

DraftKings is aiming for the middle ground by banning third party scripts will also introducing its own tool that you can use to build up to 500 lineups using a spreadsheet. If you log in to your account and then click on “my lineups” followed by “upload lineups,” you’ll be taken to a page where you can download a spreadsheet that contains the names and IDs of every athlete expected to compete in the next slate of fantasy games.

You can then build and edit up to 500 lineups by copy/pasting each player ID number into the appropriate lineup position over on the left side of the spreadsheet. When you’re done building your lineup(s), you can then upload that spreadsheet to DraftKings and all your lineups will now be uploaded to your “my lineups” area.

So far, this is the only change that has been confirmed firsthand by DraftKings. The news of other upcoming changes comes from .

Limiting Entries to Certain Contests

The next important change coming to DraftKings is a proposed limit on how many times any one player may enter certain contests. The full details remain elusive, but so far it appears players will be limited to 50 entries in non-guaranteed low buyin contests.

From ESPN:

In addition, the site has instituted entry limits for certain contests with non-guaranteed prize pools. The limits vary depending on the contests and the price points. For example, there is a limit of 50 entries in non-guaranteed contests per draft group and per price point in the $1, $2 and $5 contests. The $3 contest is the most popular, the site said.

It’s a confusing paragraph to parse, but it’s all we have to go on so far. We’ll have to wait for official word from DraftKings to see the full scoop on how that will work. Anyways, something is coming down the line as far as entry limits. I’m sure most casual players will be happy to see the change.

Identifying High Skill Players

That same report from ESPN also mentions an internal discussion at DraftKings for identifying and marking experienced players. Apparently, DraftKings is still working out the details on this proposal as well. The ESPN article mentions possibly using “a symbol or badge” to identify experienced players to everyone else.

Along those lines, DraftKings is apparently also considering implementing a “matchup blocker” that would allow you to input the names of certain players. Anyone on your “no” list would be automatically prevented from being matched with you in head-to-head matchups.