In 2016, daily fantasy laws were created in the state of Massachusetts that legalized the activity, but only for a certain length of time. A sunset provision was put in place at the time, that will end in July, so lawmakers are preparing now to make daily fantasy sports permanently legal. The House Ways and Means Budget has adopted an amendment that will remove the sunset provision and legally allow DFS in the state on a permanent basis. This amendment has now made its way to the Senate after being approved by the House late last week.
The original law allows for DFS to take place with operators allowed to offer contests with cash prizes. Operators must comply with the regulations created by the Massachusetts Attorney General. Home of DraftKings, a top provider of daily fantasy sports, it makes sense for the state to adopt permanent changes legalizing the activity once and for all.
Along with this amendment, another bill was submitted at the first of 2018 that would change daily fantasy sports regulations as well as how the industry is taxed in the state. The bill also focuses on sports betting and online gambling legalization.
If the United States Supreme Court rules in favor of New Jersey within the Christie vs. NCAA case, the bill would create a committee to study sports betting activities. The bill was introduced in January and was able to make it to a Senate committee last month but appears to have stalled for now.
In the United States, daily fantasy sports legislation has been able to move fairly quickly in several states, becoming a legalized activity. Lawmakers seem to be more open to DFS contests than the idea of online casino and poker gaming. This year, with SCOTUS set to rule on the Professional & Amateur Sports Betting Act with the New Jersey case, many states are shifting their focus to sports betting legislation as well.
We shall see in the coming weeks how lawmakers in Massachusetts move forward with the DFS legislation as well as how far the more comprehensive gaming bill is able to progress.
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