It was a big week for anyone following the legality of daily fantasy sports and sports betting in the US.
On the DFS front, bills in three different important states — Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey — got votes in state legislatures.
Meanwhile, New Jersey’s effort to legalize sports betting suffered a setback this week.
DFS legislation update
New Jersey
The first state to take a major step forward is New Jersey, as the Assembly approved a bill this week.
While DFS regulation has been a possibility dating back two years, the state has been wary to act while its sports betting case is still active. That appears to be changing with the advancement of A 3532.
The Senate version also saw action this week, but a vote on the full bill has not been held yet.
It appears the ball could soon be in Gov. Chris Christie’s court; whether he will sign the bill is unknown.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania is considering a large gaming package with lots of stuff in it — online gambling legalization included.
Also in the mix is legalization and regulation of DFS, as the Senate passed a gaming bill with fantasy sports provisions included:
The bill would be slightly expensive for operators. Per Legal Sports Report:
The cost for operators, as the bill is written, is not trivial. Operators pay the lesser of $50,000 or 7.5 percent of gross revenue in the state to gain licensure. The minimum payment is $5,000. Operators are then taxed at a rate of 12 percent after being licensed.
But it appears DraftKings and FanDuel are willing to pay that price to gain legal clarity in a big state.
The gaming bill — H 271 — is going to be considered by the House next.
Ohio
The DFS triple play in statehouses wraps up with Ohio.
A bill — H 132 — passed the House this week and moves to the Senate.
The attorney general once wrote that the legality of DFS contests is up in the air in the state, so it’s another important one for the industry.
The DFS bill tally
The number of states that have introduced legislation seeking to legalize DFS in 2017 still stands at 24. The number of states with active legislation is still 17:
Alabama- Arkansas
- Connecticut
Florida- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Kentucky
- Maine
- Minnesota
- Montana
- Nebraska
- New Jersey
- New Hampshire
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- Texas
- Vermont
- Washington
- Maine
Legal Sports Report’s legislative tracker has up-to-the-minute updates on all DFS legislation.
Sports betting legalization update
New Jersey
The news for NJ’s sports betting case wasn’t great this week.
The US Solicitor General wrote a brief to the US Supreme Court saying that it should not hear the state’s appeal to legalize sports betting.
That isn’t the news the state was hoping to hear, as a positive recommendation almost certainly would have resulted in SCOTUS hearing the appeal.
The case still has a chance of getting its day in the nation’s highest court. But those odds diminished this week.
Sports betting legislation
Eight states are fighting for a repeal of PASPA, or pre-committing to legalizing sports betting if federal sports betting laws were to change:
- Hawaii
- Maryland
- Michigan
- New Jersey
- New York
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- West Virginia
