On Saturday, June 18, the New York Senate passed a bill that calls for the legalization and regulation of Daily Fantasy Sports operators in the state.

An article by The Wall Street Journal states that if the piece of legislation is ultimately signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo, taxation and regulatory rules would be put into place.

The Wall Street Journal article goes on to explain that the legislation would ban children from playing and that the DFS companies would be regulated by the New York State Gaming Commission. The piece goes on to divulge that the operators would be taxed at 15 per cent of gross revenue, which is a lower tax rate than what is currently in place for casinos.

The DFS companies have said that their product should be exempt from strict gaming laws because they offer a game of skill. As The Wall Street Journal article explains, the companies make money via the entry fees, which allows customers to then assemble a fantasy team comprised of athletes that are competing in professional sporting leagues. The operators then pay cash rewards to the ‘managers’ of the fantasy teams that do well. The sites have taken the position that they are exempt from the gambling laws from the majority of states due to the fact that they are a game of skill.

“You’ve got to tie yourself into a pretzel to somehow say that this is not gambling,” Democratic Assemblyman Thomas Abinanti was quoted as saying. “Just because some skill is involved doesn’t remove it from the category of gambling.”

Governor Cuomo’s office has yet to publicly take a position on the bill.

(With files from The Wall Street Journal)