State Representative Mike Zalewski announced a new bill this week titled HB 4323, the Fantasy Contests Act for the state of Illinois. The bill was created by Zalewski to regulate the daily fantasy sports industry within the state, that is estimated to be on track to create over $2 billion in entry fees for 2015.
The new bill has specific language that states that any participant of fantasy contests will not be convicted of gambling, as long as the contest is defined a fantasy option based on the Fantasy Contests Act. The legislation would make 18 year olds and above eligible to play.
Illinois is just one state to act in regards to daily fantasy sports activity. It was just a few days ago that gaming regulators in Nevada decided to declare DFS as a form of gambling. Operators must now have licensing to offer such activity within the borders of the state. With the change, Nevada is now the 6th state in the US to have a ban in place of sites offer DFS activity.
While some states do not offer the activity, there are others that are looking at the industry and considering regulation. These states including Pennsylvania, Florida, New York and California, among others. Illinois has been struggling for some time with their state budget and have even went so far as presenting winners of the lottery with IOUs instead of awarding prize money.
In his explanation of the legislation, Zalewski stated that a large part of the regulation is to create safeguards that will help players keep from ‘overspending’. One option to do this is to allow the DFS sites to check for child support or tax liens that need to be paid before allowing players to take part in the gaming options.
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