Attempt to ban daily fantasy sports surfaces again in Illinois

Bill H.6586, a bill seeking to declare illegal all daily fantasy sports betting which was filed earlier this year in the Illinois House but remained dormant, has resurfaced in a last-minute attempt at passage in the closing few days of the state legislature.

The bill, which was authored by Rep. Scott Drury, exempts season-long fantasy sports activity and has been assigned to a committee, but its prospects are apparently not good, according to state political observers. It is one of two bills already tabled in the House which have excited little real interest so far.

The other bill is H.3655, introduced by Rep. Mike Zalewski with the opposite goal to Drury’s measure – it seeks to legalise DFS despite an opinion issued by state Attorney General Lisa Madigan that DFS constitutes gambling and is therefore illegal (see previous reports).

Zalewski is on record as acknowledging that his bill will have to wait until next year for further progress.

DFS market leaders FanDuel and DraftKings are both lobbying hard in Illinois and are currently fighting the AG opinion through the courts.