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Branstad expresses hesitance over legalizing fantasy sports

Apr. 19, 2016 2:43 pm, Updated: Apr. 19, 2016 3:38 pm
DES MOINES — Gov. Terry Branstad on Tuesday declined to support the legalization of fantasy sports wagering, saying the issue needs further study.
State lawmakers are considering proposals to legalize fantasy sports betting, including on the multibillion-dollar online daily fantasy sports games operated by such companies as DraftKings and FanDuel.
'I think it's a subject that needs to be studied,' Branstad said Tuesday at his weekly news conference. 'And we need to know what the ramifications would be. What I've been hearing is a lot of unanswered questions. And I think those questions need to be answered.'
Key lawmakers said the proposals are unlikely to pass during this year's legislative session, which is drawing close to its end. They said Branstad's comments make passage even less likely.
'It's not dead, just mostly dead,' said Sen. Bill Dotzler, D-Waterloo, borrowing a line from the movie 'The Princess Bride.' Dotzler has shepherded the proposal in the Senate. '(Branstad's) comments … pretty much says 'veto bait.' And I don't think this late in the session legislators want to waste time working on something that the end result's going to be it's not going anywhere.'
Branstad said he thinks the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, which oversees gambling in the state, could conduct a study to examine the potential effects of fantasy sports wagering. He said he wants to avoid a repeat of the mid-2000s, when the state legalized touch play gambling machines and banned them shortly after when people complained about them.
'There (was) all kinds of unintended consequences, and they had to go back and repeal it, and it cost the state a lot of money,' Branstad said. 'So let's be very careful about this subject.'
Legislation being considered by state lawmakers would legalize fantasy sports wagering, implement tax and fee structures and place regulation in the hands of the Racing and Gaming Commission.
Rep. Tom Sands, R-Wapello, who chairs the House committee in which the House proposal rests, also used touch play machines as a cautionary tale and said he does not anticipate action this year on fantasy sports.
'I believe while the issue still remains out there, that I don't believe there's a huge appetite to have a major gaming debate the last week of session,' Sands said. 'This (proposal) is an expansion of gaming. And if this is what they want to do, they need to be honest about it and make sure that there aren't other ramifications out there that create problems for our state.'
About 57 million people, two-thirds of them men, played daily fantasy sports in 2015, according to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association. The industry surpassed $2 billion in entry fees last year and could surpass $14 billion by 2020, according to the gaming research firm Eilers Research.
'I understand that there's a lot of interest in this, among young men in particular,' Branstad said. 'But I want to make sure that it's carefully studied and reviewed and we know what the implications of it are before we embark on it.'
Nick '1ucror' Dunham speaks in front of a spreadsheet at the DFS Players Conference about 'The Process of a Top Cash Game Player' in daily fantasy sports betting in New York November 13, 2015. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson — RTS6UDD