Louisiana the latest US state to face fantasy sports bill
Louisiana State Representative Joseph Lopinto has introduced a bill that would legalise real-money daily fantasy sports in the state.
The bill seeks clarification that playing fantasy sports is not a form of online gambling.
Lopinto told Louisiana media: “We’re not betting on the outcome of a game or a point spread. Fantasy football is a game of skill.”
Lopinto also said that the bill would allow for players in Louisiana to collect winnings from pay-to-play fantasy football games.
Fantasy sports are legal in more than 40 US states, and Lopinto’s attempts to gain clarification on the law follows similar bills that have been tabled in Washington, Indiana and Kansas this year, while Iowa’s Senate passed Senate File 166 last month, defining fantasy sports as a game of skill.
Two separate bills were submitted in Washington in January, as HB 1301 and its companion bill in the Senate, SB 5284, which is supported by Washington Senator Pam Roach, looks to have the games classified as skill as opposed to gambling.
Indiana Representative Alan Morrison introduced two separate sports betting bills in the state in the same month, one of which included fantasy sports, while Representative Brett Hildabrand introduced a fantasy sports bill in Kansas in February.
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