Fantasy sports betting in Hawaii to be inspected

According to the speaker of the house Joe Souki, Fantasy leagues are form of gambling in that a player has to put in some cash and has a possible risk of losing the cash. He adds that the clarification of fantasy betting should be clarified by the lawmakers who have up to January when they convene to do so. Souki adds that with clear explanation on fantasy league, the participants have the freedom of doing their routine without any fear of being accused by others. When the house resumes, he would try to have a chat with the House leadership on the matter.

The initiation of the one day fantasy sports betting has been evident lately and many clients have signed in websites such as FanDuel.com and DraftKings.com for a taste of it. Moreover, these two firms have spent more than $31 million in advertising their services on TV.

Executive director of StopPredatoryGambling.org, Les Bernal claims that daily fantasy betting forms a base for everyday excitement whereas the seasonal fantasy sport betting is mainly played between workmates or friends.

The 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act claims that online poker games are unlawful but fantasy leagues were exempted. It was argued that in fantasy leagues, it is the player’s skill that that wins cash rather than basic luck. Nonetheless, opponents of this have called for mass action by the lawmakers on the subject.

Hawaii Attorney General Doug Chin has not made any comment on the matter and according to spokesperson Josh Wisch claiming that nothing has taken part in the AG’s office and hence it is not clear if the topic will be discussed in a near future.

There are several states among them Montana, Washington, Louisiana, Iowa as well as Arizona which have given fantasy leagues a go ahead. These states argue that fantasy league is based on opportunities but not skills.

However, Souki was adamant and claimed that he is not going to issue a notice to stop the fantasy league advertisements in TV as he claims that there are worse things such as cigarettes being advertised on the TV which are more dangerous than fantasy leagues.

This article is published in: Sports Betting
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