With the rise of popularity in fantasy sports, lawmakers are cracking down on the regulations for each state. Legislation is quickly becoming a very concerning issue for fantasy sports businesses. As a consumer, you need to be aware of the changes in the regulations for legally playing fantasy football – both season-long and daily. Many states are actively passing new laws to regulate and potentially limit your ability to enjoy playing the game you love.
Overview
While Apex would love to offer everyone the opportunity to play in our leagues, some states are quietly starting to restrict their residents. As most reading this will know, one of the most significant problems with the legislation is the difference between Daily Fantasy Sports (aka DFS) and traditional, season-long contests.
Most of the legislation is focused on regulating DFS, but the language is broad enough that it often encompasses season long contests as well, even though many of the terms and concepts don’t even apply. Some states are requiring an unaffordable amount of money (except for FanDuel and DraftKings) for a licensing fee and/or taxation, while others are issuing compliance regulations that are nearly impossible for small businesses to achieve.
State Summary
MyFantasyLeague does a good job of keeping track of the regulations in each state. Visit their State Summary to find out the current status of your state. To help keep your hobby legal for all, contact your representatives to object to any laws that would be prohibitive for small companies to operate in your state.
SBFSTA
Small Businesses of Fantasy Sports Trade Association is doing their best to lobby for fantasy football to be accessible and legal for all residents but it is an expensive endeavor. Check out their website to see how you can help by contributing funds to their lobbying efforts.
I happen to live in Massachusetts where DraftKings is located. This is ridiculous what is happening. DraftKings has monopolized DFS and that is a result of our State laws being written without researching the fantasy websites that exist and how they operate. In Massachusetts the law says it’s trying to protect the participant’s. However there’s a double standard occurring with the MGM Casino being built in Springfield. I live 10 minutes from it. The Atty General Healy says the law protects the amount of money that people can spend on fantasy, however is there a law that is going to limit and protect the people who go to the casino every day and play for hours and hours. No there isnt. The state acts like it is doing a service and protecting the people. However they let people lose as much money at the casino when it opens and not have a care in the world. The state and Atty General Healy are hypocrites.
All of us fantasy football league players must all sign a petition that states what is wrong with the laws being passed down. People making phone calls to our State Reps does no good I’ve tried and given excuses where I can’t even talk to someone about this.
We need a universal electronic petition to be set up and sent to every State , the State Reps, Atty General’s. This is how we need to do this and get all the other Fantasy League websites to unit and do this.
We are with you Paul and appreciate your efforts.