The fantasy sports industry continues to evolve rapidly in the United States, with several updates to report from around the nation this week. There was positive news from the Midwest, while southern states have not yet come on-board the regulation train.
Indiana Sends Fantasy Regulation to Governor
Indiana became the second state to officially send a fantasy sports regulatory bill to a governor after the Senate passed legislation on Friday. Virginia’s fantasy sports bill was passed by both chambers last week and landed on the governor’s desk this week. The bill won’t immediately go to Gov. Mike Pence, per GamblingCompliance, but will head there soon.
The Senate concurred with the House version of the fantasy sports bill on Friday, just a day after the House passed S 339 — an amended version of the original Senate bill — by an 82-12 margin a day earlier. It passed by the Senate by a 34-10 vote. See more from this story at Legal Sports Report.
Georgia Senate Fails to Act on Fantasy Bill
The Georgia Senate decided not to take up a bill Monday regulating daily fantasy sports after state Attorney General Sam Olens’ office said the games constitute illegal gaming. The attorney general’s opinion was requested by Joseph Kim, legal counsel for the Georgia Lottery Corp. It came after state Sen. Renee Unterman, R-Buford, proposed that daily fantasy sports in Georgia be subject to state regulation for the first time.
Senate Bill 352 would have set standards for operations and payouts. It would have banned anyone under 18 from playing. And it would have mandated that companies register in Georgia if they have players here, setting an initial $50,000 fee — and $10,000 annually — to be paid toward state education programs including the Hope Scholarship for college students. More at AJC.com
FanDuel Leaving Texas; DraftKings to Stay and Fight
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that the state reached a settlement with FanDuel that would have the daily fantasy sports operator leave the state on May 2. The settlement comes about a month and a half after Paxton offered his formal opinion that DFS constitutes gambling under state law. The move takes one of the larger states for DFS out of play for FanDuel, which will operate in 41 states after the May deadline.
DraftKings appears ready to fight the attorney general in court on his assertion that DFS is illegal in Texas. FanDuel and DraftKings have both left Mississippi and Hawaii recently after negative opinions in those states. Read more at Legal Sports Report.
