Fantasy Sports made legal in Kansas
Governor Sam Brownback signs bill into law reclassifying daily fantasy sports as a game of skill
Kansas has become the latest state to officially legalize daily fantasy sports after Governor Sam Brownback signed a bill into law that reclassifies the activity as a game of skill. [private]
The bill, HB 2155, was tabled by Rep. Bret Hildabrand and landed on the Governorâs desk earlier this month after passing through the Senate and the House with a 37-1 and 98-21 majority.
The bill challenged the opinion of the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission (KRGC) that fantasy sports met the criteria for a lottery and were therefore illegal.
Under the Kansas constitution only the state is allowed to administer lotteries, and the KRGC states on its website that fantasy sports has elements of âprize, chance and considerationâ and therefore the âelements of an illegal lottery are satisfiedâ.
The bill was fast-tracked after Kansas Attorney General Derrick Schmidt issued an opinion at the back end of last month stating that fantasy sports was in fact a game of skill and not a lottery.
Kansas was among a number of states, including Washington and Louisiana, seeking to explicitly legalize fantasy sports, despite a carve-out in UIGEA 2006 stating it is a game of skill and therefore legal.