IL for www.theindianalawyer.com
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence Thursday signed a bill giving the Indiana Gaming Commission authority to regulate daily fantasy sports companies.
The bill includes requirements that players be at least 18 years old, prohibits contests based on college or high school sports and sets an initial licensing fee of $50,000 for companies such as DraftKings and Fan Duel.
About 20 states are considering bills to regulate the industry, in which players pay to compete online for cash prizes by picking teams of real-life athletes and racking up “fantasy” points based on how they perform.
An estimated 500,000 to 1 million Hoosiers play daily fantasy sports, which lawmakers said they sought to regulate before the growing industry became too large. Indiana is one of a handful of states to officially sanction and regulate the games; other states have sought to ban them as illegal gambling.
