DFS and online poker bills back on the table in Washington State

Wednesday saw the opening of the new legislative session in Washington State, and Representatives Sherry Appleton and Vincent Buys wasted no time in re-introducing their daily fantasy sport and online poker legalisation bills, which failed to make significant progress in the preceding session.

The two politicians teamed up to re-introduce HB1114, which proposes the regulation and licensing on online poker in a state that has become notorious for its draconian penalties on online gambling which unusually extend to heavy penalties for players as well as operators (see previous reports).

HB1114 is unchanged from last year and includes provisions for the authorisation of interstate compacts to create bigger playing pools. It also eschews “bad actor” provisions that would hamper fair and equitable market competition.

Representative Buys is also involved in sponsoring HB1301, which has also been introduced. This is a daily fantasy sports clarification bill which declares DFS to be a game of skill more than luck, therefore by-passing state gambling laws in much the same way as has been achieved in Kansas (see previous report).

The DFS bill has so far gathered 7 lawmakers on its sponsor list

The threat to DFS in Washington State under current laws is real; Our readers will recall that several years ago state authorities shuttered the Fantasy Thunder operation.

That said, the Washington State Gambling Commission appears to be taking a professional approach to the genre, subjugating itself to the will of the state Legislature and assisting lawmakers by completing and submitting a factual study of daily fantasy sports for debate.

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