If you are anything like the clients and friends of Lardiere McNair, you enjoy participating in fantasy sports leagues. A majority of people join the free-entry leagues with friends or co-workers. However, the paid-entry leagues, such as DraftKings and FanDuel, that provide the chance to win money have become more popular. At Lardiere McNair, we are here to fight for you in cases where you may have been scammed or your rights as a consumer have been violated. Therefore, you might be wondering what fantasy sports leagues have to do with the legal world.

Recently, the Ohio General Assembly introduced and referred a bill to committee that would make fantasy sports a legal reality and provide consumer protection for Ohio (House Bill 132). This bill would require fantasy sport league operators who pay out winnings to players to pay a registration fee of $30,000 and a renewal fee, which would bring in money for the state. The bill requires operators to get a state license, prohibit games based on high school or college sports, mandate that fantasy players are at least 18 years old, and protect the privacy of players and accounts. Moreover, the Ohio Casino Control Commission would oversee the fantasy sports regulation, and it would be legally regarded as a game of skill as opposed to gambling.

The purpose behind the bill is to make it clear that fantasy sports are legal as a game of skill in Ohio and install important consumer protections. The bill is aimed at protecting the numerous Ohioans who participate in paid-entry fantasy sports leagues on a regular basis. Ohio would be the 10^th state to legalize fantasy sports. Moreover, under federal law, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 exempted fantasy sports from its ban on online betting.

Thus, if you enjoy participating in paid-entry fantasy sports leagues, this bill may benefit your privacy and reduce the possibility of getting scammed. The team at Lardiere McNair is always keeping up with the changing landscape of laws such as this. Overall, whether this bill passes or not, Lardiere McNair is always here to fight for your rights.

Alexandria Nagel is a Law Clerk at Lardiere McNair, LLC.  To read more about our firm, please visit www.lmcounsel.com.

The information presented here has been prepared by Lardiere McNair for promotional and informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice.  This information is not intended to provide, and receipt of it does not constitute, legal advice.  Nor does the receipt of this material create an attorney/client relationship.  An attorney client relationship is not established until such time as Lardiere McNair enters in to a written engagement agreement with a specific client for a specific legal matter.

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