Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe just signed into law the “Fantasy Contests Act,” which is a legal framework for fantasy sports providers that operate in the state. The bill, which was approved by the Virginia legislature a few weeks ago, makes Virginia the first state in the nation to impose state-led oversight of the industry. The state’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Service will be the state entity that oversees the industry. The bill will require fantasy sports sites to pay the state a $50,000 registration fee, and implement policies to verify that all participants are 18 years of age or older. It also requires player…

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,…

New York Fantasy Sports sites FanDuel Inc. and DraftKings Inc., already facing mounting legal and regulatory scrutiny, ran into more trouble when Citigroup said it was blocking transactions by New York state residents. The move by the world’s largest credit-card lender added to the pressure in New York, the heart of the fantasy-sports industry’s legal woes since Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sued the companies in November. Schneiderman contends that daily fantasy sports are a form of gambling, which is illegal in New York. The firms say they offer games of skill, and are accepting New Yorkers’ business as while the…

It’s been a busy week for fantasy sports in America, with several states starting to consider the legality of the activity. Some states are thinking about regulation, while others still believe the restrictive, prohibitive path is best for them. Here are some updates from around the nation: Florida moves to legalize fantasy sports The Florida Legislature put its stamp on a plan to legalize daily fantasy sports games Wednesday as two key committees approved a plan to impose regulations on the sport that mirrors the way the state regulates arcade games. But as lawmakers attempted to clarify one gaming issue,…

After spending the last two months promising to make you rich, the chief executive of FanDuel admits his daily fantasy sports site may have gone a bit overboard.  “We definitely got creative burnout pretty darn quickly,” said Nigel Eccles in an wide-ranging interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday, in which he also touched on regulation, taking the company public, and the potential for a merger with competitor DraftKings. “People, when they saw the ad for the 87th time, they thought, I’m sick of this,” he said. The ad blitz was more than annoying. It was expensive — FanDuel has spent more than $100…

The dominoes keep tumbling for the Fantasy Sports industry, after a DraftKings employee used “inside information” to win over $300,000 in one week. Investigations have been initiated by the FBI and Federal Trade Commission, plus Nevada has issued a Cease and Desist for DFS operators in the state. Now, here’s the latest: The American Gaming Association Chimes in: On the topic of daily fantasy sports, the AGA Board of Directors also made clear that the industry seeks legal clarity and adequate consumer protections. Further, if daily fantasy sports is a legal activity, the casino gaming industry should have the opportunity…