JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – In his January State of the State address, Gov. Jay Nixon called for laws regulating the daily fantasy sports industry. Friday, Nixon signed HB 1941 into law, making that call a reality.
The Missouri Fantasy Sports Consumer Protection Act establishes consumer protections and creates a regulatory framework for the industry, which is growing in popularity.
“When a new frontier of online betting is available at the touch of a screen, we have a responsibility to protect consumers and young people,” Nixon said. “I appreciate the General Assembly for answering my call to bring forward common-sense consumer protection to make sure fantasy sports gaming in Missouri is operated responsibly and with accountability.”
The Missouri Gaming Commission will exercise regulatory authority over the industry, including the ability to investigate and license operators. The commission will also have the ability penalize businesses that violate the regulations.
To operate in the state of Missouri, sites will have to pay $10,000, or 10 percent of its revenues from Missouri for the previous year, whichever is less. They will also have an annual operation fee of $11,500 or 11.5 percent of revenues in Missouri.
These fees will fund the the regulatory actions of the commission, including the investigation and licensing of operators.
Consumer protections in the act include prohibiting contests based on college, high school and youth sports; prohibiting participants under the age of 18 and requiring operators to have age-verification procedures establishing complaint procedures and requiring licensed operators to conduct and pay for annual independent financial audits to ensure compliance with the act.
The legislation was sponsored in the House by Rep. Scott Fitzpatrick.
