New Jersey gaming regulators attempted to tackle the contentious issue of daily fantasy sports regulation in a hearing that accomplished very little in the way of real progress.
At issue when the New Jersey Assembly’s Tourism, Gaming and the Arts Committee met on Monday was the thorny question of how daily fantasy sports operators should be regulated. This issue has special significance in the Garden State where lawmakers have been fighting to legalize sports betting for almost five years.
NJ State Senator Jim Whelan is behind the effort to bring DFS into the regulatory fold and he’s just very serious about protecting the good people of the state of New Jersey. In to NJ Division of Gaming Enforcement Chief Dave Rebuck, as reported on by BettingNewJersey.com, he explained his stance saying:
I don’t believe we should impede one’s enjoyment of fantasy sports However, we have an obligation to ensure that fantasy sports competition is fair, impartial, and transparent to everyone.
On Monday, Garden State lawmakers convened a meeting of the New Jersey Assembly’s Tourism, Gaming and the Arts Committee to discuss the matter of DFS regulation. Though the committee decided to put a hold on DFS regulation until the more pressing matter of legalized single game betting is resolved, committee members and DFS lawyers all shared their views on the subject.
Not surprisingly, the lawyers and lobbyists representing the industry were pushing an agenda of limiting DFS regulation and nothing like a gaming license for DFS operators.
The committee members themselves devoted most of the meeting towards a spirited debate on whether or not DFS is a game of skill or chance. One committee member went as far as pointing out his wife’s success in fantasy football as proof that it’s a game of chance. His wife was not offered a chance to comment.
Though the committee postponed their decision, the writing is definitely on the wall for the daily fantasy sports industry in the United States. Barring any sudden turn of fortune, this once red-hot gaming sector will be tied up in litigation and licensing in a major way by this time next year.