New bill aims to legalize and regulate fantasy sports in Florida

A new bill introduced to the Florida state legislature is seeking to legalize and regulate fantasy sports while providing much-needed clarity into what has become an increasingly murky topic in the Sunshine State.

The bill, SB 1568, would legalize daily fantasy sports (DFS) contests and bring licensed operators under the regulatory purview of the Florida Gaming Control Commission (FGCC).

Currently, there is no regulation of fantasy sports in Florida despite a robust market headlined by prominent operators such as FanDuel, DraftKings, Underdog Fantasy, and PrizePicks.

The Fantasy Sports Contest Amusement Act, introduced by Senator Travis Hutson, “is designed to regulate contest operators and individuals who participate in such contests and to enact consumer protections related to fantasy sports contests,” according to the bill’s language.

The legislation would notably ban all forms of ‘against the house’ contests while requiring any approved contests to be based on the skill and knowledge of participants.

If passed, the bill would almost certainly outlaw the popular against-the-house pick’em formats currently offered by Underdog and PrizePicks, among other operators.

Both Underdog and PrizePicks were recipients of cease-and-desist letters from the FGCC in 2023 regarding those types of contests, but they are still operational in Florida thanks to the continued ambiguity of the state’s DFS legality.

Hutson’s bill aims to solve that by strictly defining and regulating fantasy sports contests. 

In addition to the primary thrust of the legislation – which would affect the likes of Underdog, PrizePicks and Betr, but not FanDuel or DraftKings, neither of which offer against-the-house formats – SB 1568 would levy a $1 million up-front license fee with an annual renewal cost of $250,000.

Florida’s 2024 legislative session runs from January 9 through March 8.