A bill that sets up the regulations so Louisiana residents can participate in online fantasy sports contests for cash prizes is headed to the governor’s desk.
Fairness for Fantasy Sports spokesperson Ryan Berni says they’re confident Governor Edwards will sign the legislation and hopefully lawmakers will approve the taxation in the June special session.
If both the taxation and regulation are passed and approved by Governor John Bel Edwards, Louisianans in the 47 approved parishes could use services like DraftKings and FanDuel for online fantasy play when professional sports possibly resume next month.
Berni says the upcoming battle over the tax bill for fantasy sports in the special session will likely be more contentious than this regulatory bill.
“Honestly it has been less controversial than the tax piece where there have been a lot of other interests that have been engaged in that debate,” said Berni.
Last year’s effort to legalize fantasy sports got tied up on the tax issue. Berni says he believes the legislature will ultimately give approval.
“It is going to take again, just like what happened last year, a lot of effort from fantasy sports fans to continue to push their legislators to vote for the tax package,” said Berni.
Detractors last year said the proposed tax rate was too low and noticeably lower than the tax rate for other gaming activities.
Comments