Regulating daily fantasy sports in Georgia could be on the table as lawmakers explore whether to expand gambling in the state.
State Sen. Brandon Beach, R-Alpharetta, who is heading one of two study committees working jointly on the gambling question, asked an industry insider whether Georgia should follow efforts in other states to place rules on companies operating daily fantasy sports websites.
The answer was yes.
“This is a form of gambling,” said Keith Smith, the CEO of Boyd Gaming Corp. “I am not opposed to daily fantasy sports, but I am opposed to unregulated forms of gambling.”
Nevada gambling regulators last month required companies offering daily fantasy sports to obtain a state gambling license in order to continue operating there.
The FBI and U.S. Justice Department are reported to have opened an investigation into how daily fantasy sites operate. Lawmakers in states such as Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania are also considering whether to add fantasy sports to state gambling code regulations.
Major industry operators FanDuel and DraftKings have said fantasy sports are not gambling but a game of skill. Therefore, they say they should be exempt from a federal online gambling prohibition.
On Monday, Smith told Georgia lawmakers that, “generally, it really is a game of chance.”
“Games of skill require the participant to do something, shoot a basketball through a hoop,” he said. “Daily fantasy sports, you don’t control the outcome.”
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