Fantasy Sports in the USA may be Legalized after Virginia’s Regulatory Bill

Fantasy sports in the USA are waiting for regulation at the moment. Virginia is the first state where daily fantasy sports regulation finally got final confirmation from lawmakers. It could inspire other US states to regulate their DFS market.

Lawmakers of West Virginia started to make daily fantasy sports bill come into effect with great results. The bill which passed by the state Senate, clarified a major point; participating in the games or offering them wouldn’t be illegal any more. As the last stage of the legislation, the bill will be delivered to the Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe in order to be signed or to be vetoed.

Supportive Companies

Not surprisingly the two major fantasy sports companies FanDuel and DraftKings were among the main supporters of the Virginia bill. Actually, they launched a campaign just to legalize and regulate their operations. One of  DrafKings’ lobbyist said the company is cooperating with many legislators in the country so as to achieve success.

Oppositions against Fantasy Sports in Virginia

As usual, there are many concerns around the regulation of fantasy sports in the USA. As the Democrat Senator John Unger argued that fantasy sports threat children deeply. The senator highlighted, the DFS industry targets youngsters who are encouraged to start an activity that can be addictive. Other senators said that fantasy sports are the same as horse betting or lottery games. Therefore, DFS should be regulated just like the previously mentioned elements of gambling industry. (Horse betting and lottery games are under the supervision of the West Virginia Lottery Commission.)

Ryan McDougle State Senator, who was one of the advocates of the new bill, established that over 1 million people are engaged with fantasy sport games in the state.

According to the bill, operators has an obligation to pay $50,000 fee to be registered in Virginia. Moreover, customers should be over the age of 18 to play daily fantasy sports. (So the senator’s kids are not in danger.)

If the governor signs the bill into law, Virginia will be the first state where DFS industry could operate under regulated circumstances.

The eyes’ of the United States is on the governor’s pen now.  His decision could urge other states to regulate fantasy sports in the USA, like California, Indiana and others.

You can check our Fantasy Sports Betting Guide if you want to prepare yourself for this new area of betting before it is fully legalized in the USA.