Fantasy sports could be lawfully recognized

Minnesotans love fantasy sports. More than 1 million people participate, making the state a so-called “hotbed” of gamers; however, the activity’s state legality remains in limbo.

Rep. Tim Sanders (R-Blaine) sponsors HF2540 that would codify the experience in state statute and provide a definition for fantasy sports, noting that it is not a lottery or other form of betting.

“For the most part, states are taking steps to legalize (fantasy sports),” he told the House Commerce and Regulatory Reform Committee Tuesday.

Rep. Tim Sanders

The bill, approved as amended to include several consumer protections, was referred to the House Public Safety and Crime Prevention Policy and Finance Committee. A companion, SF3007, sponsored by Senate President Sandy Pappas (DFL-St. Paul), awaits action by the Senate State and Local Government Committee.

According to the nonpartisan House Research Department, daily fantasy sports is a game where a participant selects a virtual team of real-world athletes, which then competes against other virtual teams in a variety of contest formats.

“We are nationally recognized as having the highest per capita participation in fantasy sports,” said Paul Charchian, president of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, a 350-member advocacy group. He said that sports, in general, have a huge impact on the state’s economy, and participation in fantasy leagues increases the visibility and participation in all sports.

Jake Grassel, spokesman for Citizens Against Gambling Expansion spoke against the bill, saying it would “be the largest expansion of gambling in the state.” He said there is nothing in the bill to stop non-sports related leagues from forming, such as one based off of reality shows. “This is an exceptionally addictive form of gambling.”

As amended, the bill would:

• prevent a game operator from being a participant in a game that a person offers;
• require a mechanism to verify that a player is at least 18 years of age;
• require disclosure of the number of entries a single fantasy game player may submit to each game and take reasonable steps to prevent players from submitting more that the allowable number; and
• prevent employees of the game operator and relatives living in the same household, from competing in a game offered by any game in operation with a cash prize of over $5.