Daily Fantasy Sports in Virginia is Officially Legal

Few days ago there was an article published on Betting Herald about the ongoing regulation of Daily Fantasy Sports in Virginia. The state had big hopes in the legalization of DFS. Now those hopes are fulfilled and Daily Fantasy Sports in Virginia has become legal for the citizens.

The legislature of the state approved the new bill back in February, and the Governor Terry McAuliffe signed it yesterday, so the first daily fantasy sports law in Virginia has come into law. The new bill acclaimed DFS as a game of skill.

The two biggest DFS operators –  and many smaller businesses as well –  FanDuel and DraftKings are welcomed in Virginia’s virtual territory. That’s more than good news for DraftKings especially, who has lost many markets recently due to regulations and probable financial issues.  In many other US states, like New York, Illnois and Nevada, DFS is still illegal.

Daily Fantasy Sports in Virginia has its’ own prize regarding DFS companies. Since the state decided to monetize daily fantasy sports, each operators should pay a certain annual fee in order to be allowed to operate legally. The cost of the “registration fee” is $50,000 annually.

However, some smaller companies are opposed to the annual operation fee, and saying they will be forced out of Virginia. The companies – names are not revealed  – also arguing that the new legislation puts daily fantasy sports and season long fantasy sports into the same classification incorrectly.

Conditions of Legal Daily Fantasy Sports in Virginia

• The Fantasy Contest Act obviously regulates the age of players first of all. Participants should be 18 or over.
• All the employees of these companies are banned from playing via public fantasy sports sites.
• All operators must register with the office of Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
• Every registered operator should take part in an annual audit.

The new Fantasy Contest Act of Virginia supposedly will encourage other states to legalize DFS and the business will go crazy in America sooner, or later. It seems, rather later but Virginia broke the ice.