Bill Establishes Meaningful Regulations to Protect Consumers
State Senator Dana Young (R-Tampa) today announced that she has filed Senate Bill 592, which clarifies the law to make clear that fantasy sports are legal in the State of Florida, while also establishing commonsense regulations and consumer protection measures for the industry. Ten states have recently passed laws regulating fantasy sports and these regulations have proven to be successful. SB 592 is based on the best components of fantasy sports laws from across the county, with the appropriate Florida-specific adjustments to serve the Sunshine State.
“Today, more than 3 million Floridians participate in fantasy sports. This bill ensures the games they love will continue to be legal in the State of Florida, while adding several consumer protection measures,” said Senator Young. “The relevant laws on the books were written a long, long time ago in a different era, and they need to be updated to reflect current technology and to ensure that our friends and neighbors who enjoy fantasy sports can do so without any legal ambiguity.”
Key consumer protection measures in the legislation include:
- Instituting restrictions on who may compete in fantasy games, including barring the operator, employees of the operator, and family members of the operator from play, as well as preventing employees of the game operator from sharing confidential information that could affect fantasy game play;
- Verifying fantasy contest participants are 18 years of age or older;
- Restricting any individual who is a player, game official, or other participant in a real-world competition from participating in any related fantasy contest;
- Disclosing the number of fantasy contests a single participant may enter and prevent contest participants from entering more than the allowable number of fantasy games;
- Segregating contest participants’ funds from operational funds and maintaining a reserve to ensure fantasy players will have access to their funds at all times;
- Requiring all fantasy sports companies offering fantasy games in the State of Florida to annually contract with a third party to perform an independent audit, consistent with the standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, to ensure compliance with all of the requirements of the new law; and,
- Clarification that NCAA sports will not be included in fantasy contests.
“On behalf of the millions of Floridians for whom fantasy sports is a fun and engaging pastime, I look forward to working with my colleagues during the 2017 Legislative Session to pass this needed law clarifying the legality of fantasy sports,” concluded Senator Young.
