by A.J. Perez, USA TODAY Sports
WASHINGTON — The House subcommittee hearing was labeled “Daily Fantasy Sports: Issues and Perspectives.”
The real purpose, however, for the nearly two-hour long hearing on Wednesday became clear minutes in: the decriminalization of sports gambling nationwide.
“The biggest thing for me is that I would like us to legalize sports betting,” Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) said after the hearing. “I am hoping this panel and the statements that were made about why it doesn’t make sense to allow (sports betting) to go underground and run by organized crime would lead us to some kind of legislation.
“The point is allowing sports betting to be legal in states like New Jersey who want it. That’s what I was hoping this would contribute to, primarily.”
Pallone was the driving force behind the hearing, asking for the U.S. House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade hearing to review daily fantasy sports to probe whether consumer protection legislation was needed.
And the landscape of daily fantasy sports was discussed extensively.
A handful of committee members queried the panel – which lacked representatives from FanDuel, DraftKings and the major sports leagues – about protecting the average daily fantasy player from algorithms used by elite players that tilt the odds in their favor, and the patchwork of state laws that currently govern how the daily fantasy is regulated.
Industry-leading DraftKings and FanDuel have been forced to cease operations for paid games in 12 states after daily fantasy was deemed illegal under respective state gambling laws: Alabama, Arizona, New York, Hawaii, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, Washington, Texas and Idaho.
Pallone said he was “disappointed” that FanDuel and DraftKings declined to attend the hearing. The NFL also declined the invite as did NBA, NHL and MLB – three leagues that have partnered and even purchased stakes in either FanDuel or DraftKings.
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