A district court in California dealt a blow to FanDuel, DraftKings and other DFS operators last week when it held that the payment of entry fees to enter daily fantasy horse racing contests that are returned to winners as cash prizes constituted a wager. The court was handing down a preliminary ruling in a suit originally filed in December 2015 by racetrack and wagering business the Stronach Group against Kentucky-based Horse Racing Labs, LLC, operator of the Derby Wars website. Derby Wars was providing free and pay-to-play contests, with points accumulated based on the performance of horses in real races…

The Vermont legislature recently approved a bill that would make DFS legal while also regulating it. DFS regulation is just a part of S 136, which also contains consumer protections outside of the fantasy sports industry. Gov. Phil Scott must still sign the bill to become law. He could also veto it, or do nothing and the bill would become law within five days of transmission to his office from the statehouse. (According to the official bill page, it has not yet been sent to the governor.) The legislature has also been delaying its adjournment, which could change the rules…

Alabama could soon operate legal daily fantasy sports as State legislators decided to pass the bill. According to Biz Journals, the Alabama House of Representatives approved yesterday a gaming amendment to include daily fantasy sports under local regulations. The sector will still be considered as illegal until the Senate confirms the House approval. Daily fantasy sports operations, licenses, taxes and conditions will be under the control of recently-created Alabama Advisory Council on Gaming. Following other federal states’ measures, regional officials are discussing whether daily fantasy sports represents a form of illegal gambling (based on luck) or if it offers betting…

The support of NBA fantasy sports looks promising, as the league has agreed a multi-year deal with sports entertainment company PlayON to launch daily fantasy sports (DFS) contests in regions around the world. PlayON will serve as the official daily fantasy partner of the league in a selection of major markets in Europe, Latin America and Asia. The partnership will cover the launch of DFS competitions in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK in Europe, as well as Argentina, Brazil and Mexico in Latin America and Australia, Japan and the Philippines in Asia-Pacific. The free-to-play games, which will launch…

Daily fantasy sports (DFS) industry has legally expanded to Arkansas, the 11th State to approve a complete regulation on the real money betting sector.According to Legal Sports Report, last Monday Arkansas’ Governor Asa Hutchinson signed the legislation allowing it to become effective. The daily fantasy sports industry is very popular across the United States, although few governments have set legal conditions of operations. Meanwhile, other States such as Georgia, Illinois and Texas are debating a further implementation of similar projects. So far, daily fantasy sports operators have only been offering legal platforms in Colorado, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri,…

A bill to allow and regulate online daily fantasy sports betting has been introduced in the General Assembly, but opponents say it will hurt other forms of gambling in Illinois. The bill is intended to supercede a 2015 advisory opinion by Attorney General Lisa Madigan that daily fantasy sports betting was illegal under state gambling law. The legislation’s chief sponsor, Rep. Michael Zalewski, D-Riverside, says the regulations proposed are designed to protect players. “I think daily fantasy sports continues to be operating in a regulatory vacuum,” Zalewski said. “This has been going on for two or three years now where…