Ohio‘s legislature sent a bill formally legalizing and regulating paid-entry fantasy sports to the desk of Gov. John Kasich on Tuesday.
Kasich is likely to sign the bill, which would make him the 19th governor to sign legislation dealing with the daily fantasy sports industry in recent years. All but two of those have been enacted since the start of 2016. The tally of actual DFS laws stands at 18, with more action necessary in one state (see below).
The bill — H 132 — was approved by the House for the second time; last week, the Senate approved an amended version.
Here’s a closer look at the Ohio DFS bill. Its enactment would make it the third top-10 market in the US to legalize DFS, joining New York and Pennsylvania.
States with DFS laws
Here are the states that have enacted DFS laws:
- Arkansas
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New York
- Pennsylvania
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Tennessee
The only caveat comes in Connecticut, where the law passed as part of a state budget needs the approval of the state’s Native American tribes before it takes effect.
What’s next for DFS?
For 2018, the DFS industry will likely focus its fantasy sports bill efforts on two key states — Florida and Illinois. Both are large states that have concerns about legal clarity that don’t exist in many other jurisdictions.
Another battleground state, Texas, doesn’t return to legislative session until 2019.
