Fifteen states down, thirty-five states to go.
Maine has officially joined fourteen other states in regulating daily fantasy sports (DFS) after its governor sat on the bill for a month.
Legal Sports Report reported that the bill named “An Act To Regulate and Tax Sports Fantasy League Activities in Maine” automatically took effect after Maine Gov. Paul LePage failed to act on the legislation after it was submitted to his office.
This makes Maine the fifteenth state to legalize and regulate DFS and the sixth state to enact such a law this year.
A bill becomes a law in Maine when the governor did nothing to the legislation for a month. In this case, the bill introduced by Senator Roger Katz and co-sponsored by State Representatives Jeffrey Timberlake, Bradlee Thomas Farrin and Jared Golden and State Senators Andre E. Cushing III, Troy Dale Jackson, Garrett P. Mason was submitted to Le Page in June.
Maine’s DFS bill gives clarity that fantasy sports is not a game of chance and is therefore exempted from state gaming laws.
The bill gives oversight power to the state’s Gambling Control Unit as well as authority to promulgate rules. It also levels the playing field among operators since companies with revenue less than $100,000 will not be subjected to a licensure fee.
Operators like DraftKings and FanDuel that earn more than $100,000 will have to pay a $2,500 licensing fee. Companies earning more than $100,000 will also be taxed 10 percent of their gross revenue.
The bill includes consumer protections such as setting the minimum age of 18 for players and barring contests based on collegiate or other amateur events.
There is also a provision that orders player funds to be kept separate from operating funds and the prohibition of enticing problem gamblers, among others.
