A bill that would have legalized the expansion of slot machines in eight new Florida counties won’t see any further action, and the best chance for some immediate clarification on the legality of daily fantasy sports died with it.
A Florida gambling bill that ultimately could have included provisions to legalize and regulate daily fantasy sports in the state has been indefinitely shelved by the state’s legislature. The decision not to proceed any further on the negotiations between the state’s two legislative bodies means that the legality of daily fantasy sports for the state’s 20 million residents remains nebulous.
While the state’s legislature has mostly been mum on the legality of DFS, the state’s former attorney general weighed in on the subject 26 years ago. Lawson Lamar, acting Florida AG then, declared any fantasy sports operator who charges a fee to be in violation of the state’s laws outlawing gambling.
That’s been the only legal opinion from the state’s government for over two decades, but that recently looked like it was going to change. With the passage of a voter referendum that gave approval to slot machines in eight new Florida counties, both the Florida House and Florida Senate were given an opportunity to come together on new legislation that could have included language providing a framework for legally protected and taxed daily fantasy sports games. That’s where the wheels fell off.
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According to Jeremy Wallace of the Tampa Bay Times, those negotiations between members of the House and Senate fell apart. The two bodies were at odds over expanding slot machine gambling to the eight new counties, with the House opposed and the Senate in favor. With the legislative session soon to end, there simply isn’t time to process a separate bill regulating DFS.
While the legality of DFS in the state remains unclear for the time being, that hasn’t stopped DraftKings and FanDuel from operating in the state. The population and the companies’ need for every possible dollar of revenue makes it worth the risk. The current AG, Pam Bondi, has been mum on the subject, which works in DraftKings’ and FanDuel’s favor.
It’s possible that in the next session, the House and Senate might be able to come together on a bill providing clear legalization of DFS. It will most likely come with some form of licensing to provide the state with additional revenue. For the time being, however, the shaky status quo remains.