With daily fantasy sports sites under fire throughout the country, a Florida House Panel will take up a piece of legislation that would essentially protect fantasy sports from being labeled as illegal gambling in the state of Florida.
The House Business & Professions Subcommittee will consider the proposal that includes regulations for the industry, but reaffirms that the sites would not be subject to Florida’s gaming laws.
The types of fantasy sports that will be protected under the bill allow participants to choose “teams” by compiling lists of actual athletes. The winners of the fantasy contests are determined by a comparison of statistics produced by their respective athletes each week.
The fantasy industry has recently faced challenges to its legality in light of its rapid growth. Officials in states such as Nevada, New York and Illinois consider daily fantasy sports as a form of illegal gambling, which is hotly disputed by the purveyors of the fantasy sports.
The pending legislation would make clear that the chapter of state law that oversees gambling unequivocally does not apply to the fantasy sports sites. In addition, the law will define fantasy sports and outline new regulations.
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