Lawmakers in Ohio are considering a bill that would legalize daily fantasy sports for Buckeye State residents (many of whom are already playing them). If passed, the proposed measure would provide a big win for DraftKings and FanDuel, as well as the daily fantasy sports business at large.
Cracking the football-crazy Ohio market would be a big win for daily fantasy sports operators, particularly for DraftKings and FanDuel, as the state is believed to be harboring nearly 2 million players. According to a report on CalvinAyre.com, DraftKings and FanDuel alone account for more than 400,000 of those players. But victory in Ohio wouldn’t just be a victory for DraftKings and FanDuel, it would be a victory for the entire daily fantasy sports industry.
The model for regulated daily fantasy sports that’s being proposed in Ohio is one that taxes operators based on their size. This is exactly the model that the Fantasy Sports Trade Association (FSTA), an industry lobbying group, would like to see enacted across the country.
In an interview with Crain’s Cleveland Business, FSTA Chairman Peter Schoenke, spoke to the industry’s pleasure with the proposed bill saying:
It sort of dawned on them that you have to look out for small companies.We want a law that makes it legal and adds consistency for our profession,” he said. Our members don’t mind if our industry pays for that cost. We just want the system to have no barriers for entry — so the smaller companies out there can continue to operate, and others can come in without paying a huge fee.
If enacted, the bill legalizing daily fantasy sports in Ohio would go into effect in the beginning of 2018.