Several years ago, Maryland became one of the only states to pass laws that pertained specifically to daily fantasy sports. At the time, the bill provided legal clarity on this form of entertainment and it wasn’t expected that the bill would be revised so soon. However, this week, the state – acting on a suggestion by its attorney general, Brian Frosh – introduced two new daily fantasy sports bills, namely SB 976 and HB 930.
The AG issued an advisory opinion on DFS prior to the bills being introduced, suggesting that when the original bill passed in 2012, it should have perhaps gone to public referendum before it exempted DFS from state gambling legislation altogether.
In his opinion, Frosh said that he believed that Chapter 346, which exempted fantasy sports from the prohibitions against betting, wagering and gambling within the state’s Criminal Law Article “should have been referred to the electorate under Article XIX.”
“However, due to the substantial uncertainty surrounding these issues and because the legislative history surrounding Chapter 346 suggest that the focus of the debate in the General Assembly in 2012 was not on the regulation of daily fantasy sports, we recommend that the Legislature squarely take up the issue this session and clarify whether daily fantasy sports are authorized in Maryland,” he wrote.
There are currently two bills relating to DFS pending – a House version and a Senate version. The first version essentially asks the Lottery and Gaming Control Agency to create regulations that control daily fantasy sports.
A more different version is the Senate version which, among other things, proposes a licensing framework for DFS operators, who will also be required to make greater efforts to protect player funds by placing them in a trust. In addition, operators will be required to put geo-location technology in place to prevent gameplay by players who are not allowed to take part in DFS. Play by employees in the industry and under-21 year olds will also be prohibited. The Senate bill suggests that the DFS industry be put under the control of the State Lottery and Gaming Control Commission. It specifies that licensed operators may not advertise internet fantasy sports games to individuals who self-exclude themselves and steps have to be taken to verify if the player is indeed 21 years old by matching credit card details with names and billion addresses.
