Georgia senate committee advances DFS bill

In the US state of Georgia a DFS legalisation bill that failed to make it out of committee last year is advancing with renewed energy this session.

HB118 received the unanimous approval of the state Senate Regulated Industries Committee after it was referred to the Senate by the state House. The bill was introduced by state Representative Trey Kelly and others who wanted to formalise the regulation and taxation of daily fantasy sports, hitherto a grey area in legislative terms.

The bill proposes oversight and enforcement of a legalised and licensed DFS sector by the Department of Secretary of State, with the now familiar list of regulatory requirements such as an 18 year age limit for players, exclusion of college athletes, and consumer protection measures.

DFS operators would be expected to pay a 6 percent  tax on revenues from Georgia players.

In related news, Senate lawmakers in the state of Alabama have again taken a negative view of DFS, defeating SB325 despite provisions that included up to $85,000 registration fees for major operators and $5,000 fees for smaller daily fantasy sports operators. The measure also failed last year when the Senate allowed it to run out of time.

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