New York fantasy sports bill is over the line

y fantasy sports are now officially legal in eight US states, as New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed a fantasy sports bill into law.

This follows a slight stalling in the process, as S 8153, which also legalises season-long fantasy sports, was sent to Cuomo after being passed 45-17 in June, just in time before the state’s adjournment deadline.

The delay in signing the bill into law was brought to an end when Cuomo requested that the bill be sent to his desk.

Cuomo said: "Daily fantasy sports have proven to be popular in New York, but until now have operated with no supervision and no protections for players.

"This legislation strikes the right balance that allows this activity to continue with oversight from state regulators, new consumer protections, and more funding for education.”

New York joins Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Indiana, Virginia, Tennessee and Mississippi on the list of states to have regulated the fantasy sports industry.

Operators FanDuel and DraftKings pulled out of New York in March to comply with the wishes of Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

Both FanDuel and DraftKings CEOs released statements on the issue, but could not reveal when they will be live in the state.

FanDuel CEO Nigel Eccles said: “This is a momentous day for the fantasy industry, and I can say on behalf of every FanDuel employee that we owe this moment to you — our New York users — who supported us throughout this entire time. That support was absolutely remarkable. More than 110,000 letters and nearly 3,000 calls were made directly to lawmakers from sports fans around the state who told their legislators that they love fantasy sports.”

Jason Robins, DraftKings CEO, said: “On behalf of everyone at DraftKings, we look forward to welcoming New Yorkers back and are excited that fans in some of the greatest sports towns in the world will once again be playing the fantasy sports contests they love.”