Georgia House passes DFS bill

Early reports from the US state of Georgia indicate that a daily fantasy sports legalisation bill – H118 – has passed with a strong majority in the state House.

Under House Bill 118, introduced in January this year by Republican Representative Trey Kelley, companies operating daily fantasy sports websites may apply for registration with the state for an adjustable fee, pay a 6 percent annual tax on GGR and receive licensing.

In January Kelley said the measure is designed to protect the estimated 1.5 million residents of Georgia who are DFS consumers.

Our readers may recall that in 2015 online sports gaming was reviewed by then-Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens, who suggested an investigation into whether daily fantasy sports sites, such as FanDuel and DraftKings, fell under state prohibitions on gambling.

Kelley has in the past testified that in his opinion fantasy sports is a game of skill, requiring research and practice, and not a game of chance.

“I have serious reservations about pure gambling in our state, but games of skill are already allowed,” he is on record as saying. “Golf tournaments, bass fishing tournaments, skeet shoots. We already allow those. I just see this as the proper classification.”

H118 makes provision for the display of responsible gambling information, protection against DFS employee conflicts of interest, and specifies that players must be at least 18 years of age.

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