When voters head to the polls today, they will see the question asking if fantasy sports betting should be legalized in their parish. Not everyone is on board with the idea of legalization. President of the Louisiana Family Forum Gene Mills said fantasy sports betting could result in a domino effect that sees the integrity of sports put at stake.
“You have fantasy sports betting today, you’ll have real sports betting tomorrow and that’s a problem. If you don’t think that’s a problem for the integrity of the players as well as the league, just ask Pete Rose,” said Mills.
Mills said because of the limited ability to verify who is placing the bet and in which parish a bet is being placed, it could lead to the ability to place a wager in the wrong hands.
“A child could get to obtain a parent’s credit card number and that could cause financial duress to some families,” said Mills.
Senator Danny Martiny is in favor of the legalization and said anyone who thinks they are suppressing gaming by voting against it is fooling themselves.
“People are doing it anyway and the state gets absolutely no benefit by it,” said Martiny.
Martiny says the attitude toward fantasy sports betting has changed
“If someone else if crazy enough where they want to do it, and it reduces my tax burden, I’m for it. I think that’s what the attitude is now,” said Martiny.
The polls close at 8PM.
