Little that is new emerges from California hearing on daily fantasy sports

This week saw the winding up of an inconclusive informational hearing by the California Assembly’s Committee on Governmental Organization, chaired by pro-DFS Assemblyman Adam Gray.

The committee heard testimony from witnesses for and against that covered much the same ground as has been the case in other state hearings, but did not produce any really new evidence or direction for the vertical, again seemingly favouring regulation over banning.

A notable absence from the witness list was the state Attorney General, whose department has reportedly – like other states – been considering whether DFS is legal under state law.

DraftKings and FanDuel were predictably present, with their lawyers offering pro-DFS views and information, along with DFS publication owners like Peter Schoenke of RotoWire, who is also president of the DFS industry’s trade association and was obviously on-side.

The Associated Press news agency reports that as many 20 US states are now considering the regulation of daily fantasy sports; Our readers will recall that Nevada has declared DFS bets to be illegal gambling and has ordered the sites out of the state unless they acquire gambling licenses.

New York’s attorney general this week ordered DraftKings and FanDuel to stop operating and was supported by a New York federal court TRO, but the companies won a temporary reprieve allowing them to continue operating through January.

The California hearing also featured sports team owners defending business partnerships with DFS companies that increase player engagement.

Chairman Payne spoke about his legislative proposal which seeks to regulate and licence DFS through the state Department of Justice.