Jim Rosica
Sen. Dana Young has again filed a bill to exempt fantasy sports play from regulation under the state’s gambling laws.
Young, a Tampa Republican, filed her measure (SB 374) Friday afternoon. She introduced similar legislation this past session.
The bill for the 2018 Legislative Session would prohibit a fantasy contest operator from offering “contests based on the performances of participants in collegiate, high school, or youth athletics.”
That was a concern of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), she said in a phone interview: “I thought it appropriate that it be in there, so we added it.”
Otherwise, Young said her language came from last session’s conference committee on a proposed omnibus gambling bill that failed by that session’s end.
A House bill last session also would have excepted fantasy contests from regulation as gambling. Around 3 million Floridians say they play some sort of fantasy sports.
In sum, “we’re just confirming that fantasy sports are not illegal,” she said.
Session begins Jan. 8.
