Colorado became the fifth state to regulate the daily fantasy sports industry, as Gov. John Hickenlooper signed a bill on Friday.
Hickenlooper signs
Hickenlooper publicly enacted the fantasy sports regulation law — H 1404:
Congrats @SenGuzman @crisantaduran @JohnCooke4SD13 for signing of fantasy sports bill! #coleg #HB1404 #snapchat pic.twitter.com/tHlsrfjuWZ
— Colorado Senate Dems (@COSenDem) June 10, 2016
That comes a month and a day after the legislature passed a bill, back on May 9.
FanDuel offered this statement commending the law’s passage.
What’s in Colorado’s DFS bill
Basic provisions of the bill include:
- The Division of Professions and Occupations in the Department of Regulatory Agencies oversees the daily fantasy sports industry.
- The DPO is responsible for setting licensing and renewal fees; those figures are not set in the law.
- Operators with less than 7,500 users must only register with the state, they need not apply for a license.
- Operators that are not classified as “small” must contract with a third party to perform an annual audit.
- Consumer protections are a part of the bill, including a prohibition on play by operator employees; making operators take steps to make sure data that could affect contests is secure; forcing operators to segregate player funds from operating funds; and allowing players to restrict themselves from playing.
- Contests involving amateur sporting events — including college sports — are prohibited.
- A minimum age of 18 is set for DFS users.
The law would appear to allow all current DFS and season-long operators to serve the state, barring an unusually high fee being set for licensure.
Colorado is No. 5
Colorado joined four other states that have turned DFS bills into law:
Missouri’s governor signed a bill into law later in the day.
Other states with DFS action
While the legislatures in a lot of states have adjourned for the summer or through the November elections, several Eastern states are still taking a hard look at DFS regulation:
- New York is rushing to get a bill passed before a June 16 deadline.
- A bill was just introduced in Pennsylvania.
- Legislation recently passed a committee vote in New Jersey.
