As the debate heats up on the legality of daily fantasy sports betting, the state of Iowa’s senate passed Senate File 166, which defines fantasy sports as a game of skill and as such, should not be considered as gambling.
The senate approved the bill by a significant margin (32-16). The bill now moves to the Iowa House of Representatives, which has its own bill – House File 281 – on the issue.
The two bills, though similar in nature, do have some minor differences, including an amendment to the Senate bill that forbids daily fantasy sports contests to be based on high school sporting events.
Sen. Jeff Danielson, the chairman of the Senate State Government Committee, voted in favor of the bill, arguing that the time is right for the state to clearly define the legality of fantasy sports.
“We are currently in legal limbo,” Danielson added. “We have never really clearly defined what fantasy sports are in Iowa.”
Some Iowa lawmakers in Iowa have expressed their concern about the semantics between skill-based games and gambling. Sen. Julian Garrett said that while he “conceded there may be a certain amount of skill involved in daily fantasy sports, it’s preposterous to say that “there’s no chance, no gamble involved.”
Meanwhile, the Kansas House Federal and State Affairs Committee has endorsed House Bill 2371 pertaining to daily fantasy sports. But the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission has argued that daily fantasy sports games with entry fees falls under the category of “illegal lottery” under its own laws.
Meanwhile, Boston-based daily fantasy sports operator DraftKings has partnered with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on a promotion offering one fan a chance to win an all-expense paid trip to New York to attend Summerslam on August 23, 2015.
DraftKings will host a the “Ultimate Summerslam Experience” competition on its site through “select professional basketball contests.” In addition to watching Summerslam from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, the winner of this competition will also get access to attend a WWE-sponsored VIP party and meet WWE Superstars and Divas.
“As daily fantasy sports continue to grow in popularity, we’ve seen dramatic growth in interest from fans in the WWE community,” DraftKings CEO Jason Robins said in a statement. “WWE is extremely creative when it comes to engaging their fans, and has been a great partner for DraftKings in developing contests and one-of-a-kind new experiences that fans are sure to enjoy.”
Robins’ comments were echoed by WWE Chief Revenue & Marketing Officer Michelle Wilson, who said that the partnership is a win-win situation for both companies. “WWE’s partnership with DraftKings will deliver an extraordinary opportunity to our fans, while providing DraftKings with maximum exposure during two of our biggest global events, WrestleMania and SummerSlam.”
