Not much action has been taken on a similar bill in Wisconsin
Some massive disinformation going on when it comes to fantasy sports betting sites.
That’s what Jake Grassel, from Citizens Against Gambling Expansion in Minnesota, believes.
State House members just overwhelmingly passed a bill that would expressly legalize fantasy sports betting sites like FanDuel and DraftKings.
Grassel says lawmakers seemed to buy the arguments that those sites aren’t actually gambling, and more of a game of skill.
“It is gambling,” Grassel said, disagreeing that it’s skill-based. “Daily fantasy sports is gambling.”
Grassel says the effort has been part of a disinformation campaign about fantasy sports in the state.
“It was really pushed as a protection for the million people who play fantasy sports in Minnesota to make sure their rights were protected,” Grassel said.
Several states have already passed laws making daily online fantasy sports betting illegal, while dozens of others have done the opposite. A bill to regulate those sites has been introduced in Wisconsin this year but lawmakers haven’t taken much action on it.
The online sports betting bill in Minnesota still has to pass the Senate before it gets sent to Gov. Mark Dayton for a signature.
“This is the first step into online gambling in this state,” Grassel said.