FanDuel and DraftKings leave Alabama and Tennessee gov signed DFS bill

The largest fantasy sports operators DraftKings and FanDuel stopped spending money on fantasy sports in Alabama. Relevant letters from the Attorney General of the state Luther Strange were sent to the companies to exist the state market until May 1st.

Luther Strange informed on April, 5th that they had found that daily fantasy sports (DFS) are a part of state illegal gambling, so they had sent letters to cease and desist all real-money activity to the two online operators FanDuel and DraftKings to leave Alabama.

During the press conference, the attorney said that he was happy that both providers fulfilled his order. The two operators have promised to limit access to IP-addresses of their pages to Alabama users and not to accept payments from its residents. Furthermore, FanDuel and DraftKings agreed to process Alabama users’ requests to withdraw accounts within seven days after receiving them. He said, “As Attorney General, it is my duty to uphold Alabama law, including the laws against illegal gambling. The daily fantasy sports operations violate state law because a player stakes something of value on a contest of chance in order to win a prize. While there is a measure of skill involved in creating a fantasy sports roster, in the end, contestants have no control over the performance of the players on their rosters. This activity is illegal under Alabama law.”

Two men from Jefferson County filed a federal lawsuit against FanDuel and DraftKings in November, alleging that the operations qualified as illegal gambling and that their DFS games were misinterpreted as games of skill, not of chance.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the US Department of Justice launched a probe into the DFS industry in October. Currently, 12 states have announced paid DFS tournaments illegal.

In March, both Indiana and Virginia’s governors signed DFS bills into law. At the same time, Tennessee Governor Bill Heslam signed a bill that regulates the daily fantasy sports (DFS) on April 27.

“After the approval of the law by the Governor, Tennessee became the third state in which there is a law on DFS, – said the statement. – State governments of Louisiana and Virginia in 2016 also approved a legislative framework governing fantasy sports. “

The law will come into force on 1 July 2016. According to it, the income DFS received from residents of the state is taxed by 6%.

The Secretary of State is entrusted to monitor fantasy sports industry. He will determine the appropriate charges for the issuance and renewal of licences as the size of fees in the law is not written.

Previously, the Attorney General Herbert Slatery issued an opinion that the tournaments in the DFS format illegal after DrafKings scandal last October.fees in the law is not written.