It’s hard to miss commercials from popular fantasy sports sites like Draft Kings and Fan Duel which earn millions of dollars during the baseball and football season. But a state lawmaker says he wants to make it clear that a lot of what they’re doing is illegal in Ohio.
Republican Senator Bill Coley of the Cincinnati area says daily fantasy sports sites are essentially gambling pools for profit which are already outlawed in Ohio.
Coley has a bill requiring that 100% of the money paid into these games must be sent back out to the winners.
But Marc La Vorgna, spokesperson for Fan Duel and Draft Kings, says Coley’s bill would outlaw a big chunk of what they do.
“Other states have recently addressed this issue and have done so in a very clear and effective manner that puts some basic consumer protections around fantasy sports but made it clear that the games are legal,” said La Vorgna.
The Ohio Attorney General’s office has said in a memo that the laws on pools for profits are unclear when it comes to daily fantasy sports.
