Lawmakers Pitch Regulations For Florida Fantasy Sports

November 12, 2015

Two Republican lawmakers are filing legislation that would regulate the daily fantasy sports industry, which is the subject of a federal probe and lawsuits in Florida and other states focused on whether the popular online games are illegal gambling. Sen. Joe Negron of Stuart and Rep. Matt Gaetz of Fort Walton Beach — both lawyers — issued a press release Tuesday with a draft version of their proposal.

The legislation would require all fantasy sports game operators to register with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and impose restrictions on who can play the games.

Employees, family members and owners of the fantasy sports websites could not participate in the games, and employees also could not share confidential information that could affect fantasy game played with third parties until the information is publicly available.

Players, officials and others affiliated with real sports teams could not participate in any fantasy game that is determined by the performance of the player, the team or the accumulated statistics of the team or player. Three million Floridians currently play some sort of fantasy sports games, according to industry insiders.

“I do not believe that these Floridians should be at risk of criminal prosecution for doing nothing more than participating in the fantasy sports contests they enjoy. However, due to a dated attorney general opinion, there is a need to clarify in Florida law that fantasy sports are legal, as well as institute commonsense regulations that address consumers,” Negron, who is slated to become the next Senate president, said in the press release.

The fast-growing daily fantasy sports industry is under scrutiny by prosecutors in New York and Tampa, where the U.S. Attorney’s Office recently subpoenaed the Florida-based Fantasy Sports Trade Association. Daily fantasy sports companies DraftKings and FanDuel, and the association have hired some of the state’s most influential lobbyists, and the association contributed at least $70,000 to political committees led by Florida lawmakers in September.

Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, told The News Service of Florida last month that he’s asked his lawyers to check into the fantasy sports industry, in which players pay entry fees to draft “teams” that compete against each other for cash prizes based on the actual performance of athletes.

by The News Service of Florida

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News, Sports