Louisiana: Fantasy sports gambling apps legalization is getting closer

The State's House approved a proposal to legalize fantasy sports gambling last month, and Senate Judiciary B Committee voted 4-1 Tuesday (May 1) to advance the bill.

Sen. Karen Carter Peterson, D-New Orleans, was the single vote against the legislation on the Senate committee, Nola.com reports. She didn't explain her vote. The Louisiana Family Forum, a conservative Christian organization, opposed the bill, but didn't speak at the committee hearing.

House Bill 484, authored by Rep. Kirk Talbot, R-River Ridge, would allow each parish to approve fantasy sports gambling through a November ballot initiative. If a parish voted against it, people could not legally play the games on their smartphones or computers while in that community. Online fantasy sports gambling is already legal in 19 states, according to industry reports.

Even if parishes approve fantasy sports gambling, Talbot said additional legislation will be needed in 2019 to figure out how to regulate and tax the games. The state's Gaming Control Board would also have to come up with rules for how fantasy sports apps would be allowed to operate in Louisiana -- one step in a fairly lengthy process toward legalization.

Talbot has pitched online fantasy sports as a way to raise money for Louisiana without increasing traditional taxes, but his legislation doesn't deal with what fees or taxes fantasy sports entities might pay the state. All other forms of legal gambling in the state are taxed at relatively high rates.

Most gambling revenue is also typically dedicated to a specific purpose, such as education. It's uncertain where money raised from fantasy sports would go, if anywhere specific.

Louisiana law remains silent on whether traditional fantasy sport leagues, played among friends and coworkers, are legal. Talbot's bill won't make those types of games legitimate.

DraftKings, FanDuel and other smartphone apps mostly offer daily fantasy sports games played against strangers, rather than season-long leagues. The apps enable fans to play multiple games and spend money more easily than traditional fantasy sports setups.

Legislation to allow for fantasy sports apps has been introduced more than once and has never been able to make it past the House floor. In 2015, then-Rep. Joe Lopinto pushed legislation similar to Talbot's. Lopinto, now Jefferson Parish sheriff, pulled the bill before it came up for a House vote because of a lack of support.

In the past, the video poker industry has helped kill legislation that would legalize fantasy sports apps because operators see such games as competition. But the major video poker lobbyist, Alton Ashy, said last month that Talbot's bill is not a priority this year because he knows lawmakers would have to come back next year to draw up regulations for legal fantasy sports gambling to become a reality.

The Senate has already killed proposals that could have legalized traditional sports betting and internet gambling in Louisiana.