Missouri and Colorado recently announced that they have now passed bills legalizing the Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) industry within their state borders making them the fifth and sixth state to do so this year.
Governors of both states signed bills to law late last week. Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon was one of the few governors who had taken an active interest in the DFS industry. The bill HB 1941 was introduced late last year and was cleared in the legislative houses in May. The law will come into effect on August 28.
In a statement, Gov. Nixon said
When a new frontier of online betting is available at the touch of a screen, we have a responsibility to protect consumers and young people. I appreciate the General Assembly for answering my call to bring forward common-sense consumer protection to make sure fantasy sports gaming in Missouri is operated responsibly and with accountability
Under the terms of the Missouri Fantasy Sports Consumer Protection Act , DFS will come under the purview of the Missouri Gaming Commission. The DFS sites would need to pay an annual licensing fee of $10,000 or 10 percent of net revenue in the state whichever was lower. Additionally a tax rate of 11.5 percent has been imposed. Fee proceeds will go towards education funds.
The act also requires a third party audit annually and requires the segregation of player funds. DFS contests based on amateur contests including college sports are banned and players need to be 18 years of age to participate.
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper had signed the state’s DFS bill into law earlier on the same day as Missouri. The state’s fantasy sports regulation bill H 1404 had been passed by the legislative houses in early May.
According to the law, the Division of Professions and Occupations (DPO) within the state’s Department of Regulatory Agencies will handle the regulation of the industry. The DPO has been given the mandate to set the licensing and renewal fees instead of it being stipulated in the law itself. Only operators having over 7,500 users need to obtain a license and undergo an annual audit. Amateur sporting events are prohibited for DFS contents and users need to be over 18 years of age to play.
A number of consumer protection provisions are provided in the law including segregation of funds, measures allowing players to set limitations on themselves and protection of consumer data. The law comes into effect on August 10.
These two states join other four states that have so far legalized DFS so far which are Indiana, Virginia, Tennessee and Mississippi.
