Indiana Legalizes Fantasy Sports

indianaIndiana became the second state with a law formally legalizing daily fantasy sports after Gov. Mike Pence signed Senate Bill 339 on Thursday. Earlier this month, Virginia became the first state to pass such a law.

States have taken vastly different approaches as they try to clarify the murky legality of the games. New York’s attorney general has declared them illegal and the industry’s two largest companies, DraftKings and FanDuel, agreed this week to stop taking bets in the state. In Maryland, a bill would put the question to voters in a November referendum.

The Indiana law sets a minimum age of 18 for players. It prohibits the use of college and high school sports results in a daily fantasy sports contest. The Indy-based NCAA supported an amendment limiting daily fantasy sports games to professional sports. The national group of high school sports associations also has its headquarters in Indianapolis.

The Indiana law also prohibits the use of horse race results, a nod to race tracks in Anderson and Shelbyville. Those “racinos,” however, will be allowed to conduct their own daily fantasy sports games, as will the state’s off-track betting locations.

The industry will be regulated by a newly created Paid Fantasy Sports Division of the Indiana Gaming Commission. Companies will have to pay an initial registration fee of $50,000, an amount industry critics of the bill said favors DraftKings and FanDuel by setting the barrier to entry too high for upstart companies.

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