DFS far from legalisation in Arizona

Experts say that DFS would only be legalised in Arizona if the state’s gaming compact gets modified or if it’s no longer considered as gambling.

US.- Daily Fantasy Sports are considered a form of gambling in Arizona and therefore illegal in the state. Legislation only allows tribal casinos, horse and dog racing, and the state lottery to operate and, unless the gaming compact gets modified or the conception of the segment changes, DFS won’t be legalised any time soon.

“The question in Arizona is about how we categorize fantasy sports,” Executive Vice President for the Fantasy Trade Sports Association (FTSA) Stacie Stern said. “It’s not gambling and it’s not gaming in our mind. We don’t want to upset the compact, so the legislatures are very reluctant to do anything to hurt the compact and the money that the state gets from the tribes based on those compacts.”

There has been an attempt to remove the “gambling” label from DFS as Senate Bill 1515 was introduced in February 2016. However, the initiative to exclude the segment from under the gambling law (which would’ve allowed residents to access fantasy sports websites such as FanDuel or DraftKings) didn’t last long and quickly died in the Senate.

However, DFS’ popularity continues to rise and, according to the FSTA, there are a record 59.3 million participants in the US and Canada. According to a survey (conducted by the FSTA), 64 per cent of them say they watch more live sports because of fantasy games. Therefore, the activity seems to have a positive impact on sports and deserves, at the very least, to be considered by lawmakers not only in the US but all around the globe.