Lawmakers in Georgia Told To Regulate Fantasy Sports
Regulation of the daily fantasy sports in Georgia could be put on the table while the lawmakers explore the expansion of gambling in the state.
This issue came up in a hearing in Savannah, where supporters and opponents continued their testimony regarding about the legalization of casinos and parimutuel betting on horse racing.
State Sen. Brandon Beach, R-Alpharetta, who is one of the two study committees is heading and working with committees jointly on the gambling question, has asked an industry insider if Georgia should follow the efforts taking place in other states to impose rules on companies that operate daily fantasy sports sites.
Tow of the biggest Fantasy Sports websites, FanDuel and DraftKings have recently been under scrutiny, after accusations emerged of employees participating in contests armed with insider information. One of the employees has recently come second in a contest on FanDuel and won $350,000. Since then Nevada has banned both sites unless they obtain a state gambling license.
Keith Smith, the CEO of Boyd Gaming Corp, said that he was not against this form of gambling, but that he was opposed to the unregulated forms of gambling.
The Nevada gambling regulators, last month, required companies that offered daily Fantasy Sports to obtain a state gambling license for them to continue operating.
It is reported that the FBI and U.S. Justice Department have opened an investigation on how daily Fantasy sites operate. The Lawmakers in Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts are considering adding Fantasy Sports to the
Georgia’s, state lottery officials, have asked the two companies for more information about their businesses.
