FanDuel is turning to the grassroots to push for the legalization of daily fantasy sports in Florida.
The operator reportedly sent a “call to action” email to its users in the Sunshine State, urging them to contact lawmakers to support fantasy sports. The email, which includes a link where users can send a message to their state legislators, comes ahead of a scheduled Senate committee hearing, which will discuss a major gambling overhaul bill that, among other things, would pave the way for fantasy sports to be legalized in Florida.
“A new bill has been introduced that would update Florida’s laws to recognize what we all know to be true—that fantasy sports are games of skill and should be kept legal for all eligible Floridians to enjoy,” the email said, according to Florida Politics’ Jim Rosica.
Several weeks ago, state Sen. Bill Galvano introduced SB 8, an 112-page tome that covers everything from tribal compacts to gas pump lottery sales. For daily fantasy sports, SB 8 revives earlier plans to create an Office of Amusements within the Department of Business and Professional Regulation that would oversee DFS activity. DFS licensees would pay initial fees of $500,000 and annual renewals of $100k, with lower fees promised for smaller operators not named DraftKings or FanDuel.
“The fact is that current laws have not kept pace with technology,” the FanDuel email stated, according to the report. “Unless legislators are willing to deny millions of Floridians the right to play America’s newest national pastime, they must act quickly to update the law by passing legislation that protects your right to play.”
Florida lawmakers struggled with legalizing fantasy sports in the state. Last year, State Sen. Joe Negron, a Stuart Republican, and state Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Fort Walton Beach Republican, introduced a bill that aimed to exempt fantasy contests from regulation, but their measure met an untimely death after a heated debate over a renewed blackjack agreement with the Seminole Tribe of Florida and connected bills that would have expanded gambling in the state.
