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- the road is clear for Kansas lawmakers to push a proposed new law that will ensure fantasy sports leagues for prizes are legal within the state's borders
- the road is clear for Kansas lawmakers to push a proposed new law that will ensure fantasy sports leagues for prizes are legal within the state's borders
Fantasy sports players in the State of Kansas have reason to celebrate. On April 24, Kansas' Attorney General released an opinion that states fantasy sports leagues are not considered illegal lotteries under Kansas Law, because they are games of skill. The opinion relies on the "dominant factor doctrine," which deems that chance must predominate over skill with regard to the results of a game for the game to be considered one of chance.
The Kansas Attorney General's opinion is a needed clarification of the law, which was muddied in August 2014, when the Kansas Gaming & Racing Commission stated that, “[i]f a fantasy sports league has a buy-in (no matter what it is called) … and gives a prize, then all three elements of an illegal lottery are satisfied.”
That August 2014 statement caused many fantasy sports operators to question whether they were safe to provide their game play within Kansas' borders. While major daily fantasy operations such as FanDuel and DraftKings continued to allow users in Kansas to enter fantasy sports competitions that awarded prizes, others were more risk averse.
Star Fantasy Leagues stopped accepting customers from Kansas after the Kansas Gaming & Racing Commission stated its position. That is the same operator that recently revealed the results of an audit conducted on its own game play and provided a conclusion that fantasy sports games on its platform require more skill than chance in relation to winning outcomes. However, it was not willing to take the risk of operating in a state that took a contrary position. With the new Attorney General's opinion, expect Star Fantasy Leagues to return to the Sunflower State.
Despite the August 2014 statement that fantasy sports leagues were illegal lotteries in the State of Kansas, no prosecutions had been made for engaging in such game play and there had not been any effort to enforce a prohibition. Now the road is clear for Kansas lawmakers to push a proposed new law that will ensure fantasy sports leagues for prizes are legal within the state's borders . The Fantasy Sports Trade Association estimates that roughly 500,00 Kansans participate in fantasy sports leagues.
Darren Heitner is a lawyer and the Founder of South Florida-based HEITNER LEGAL, P.L.L.C., which has a focus on Sports Law and Entertainment Law.
