Delaware legalises daily fantasy sports

The US state of Delaware, already one of the pioneers in US online gambling legalisation, has extended legalisation to daily fantasy sports.

On Wednesday Gov. John Carney signed bill HB 249 into state law following the approval of the state legislature last month.

The bill, which comes into force in a month’s time, and takes the position that DFS is primarily a game of skill rather than chance, and that betting real money on the genre does not constitute gambling because the result is not dependent on a single sporting event or the performance of a single athlete.

The state has decided on an elitist approach when it comes to fees and taxes, setting the rates rather high for the DFS industry at an annual fee of fifty thousand dollars and a tax rate on GGR generated by Delaware residents of 15 percent.

Gov. Carney’s signature this week brings to an end the difference of opinion between the state Attorney General and lawmakers which saw the AG define DFS as illegal gambling and the imposition of restrictions on operators in the Delaware market (see previous reports).

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