Johnson County lawmaker wants to legalize fantasy sports in Kansas
A Johnson County lawmaker has introduced a bill to make playing fantasy football and baseball legal in Kansas – which it technically isn’t.
The bill is a response to widespread media coverage last summer that the Kansas Gaming and Racing Commission’s website stated that fantasy sports leagues with cash buy-ins could be considered illegal under the state’s gambling laws.
“In short, if a fantasy sports league has a buy-in (no matter what it is called) for its managers and gives a prize, then all three elements of an illegal lottery are satisfied,” the commission’s Frequently Asked Questions page states.
However, Judy Taylor, the commission’s general counsel, told the Eagle in August that no prosecutor had pursued a case against fantasy sports and that the likelihood of such a possibility was low.
“I want to make sure those chances are zero,” said Rep. Brett Hildabrand, R-Shawnee, who introduced a bill Monday to make fantasy sports officially legal. “This is an innocent activity that thousands of Kansans participate in and I would say the vast majority have no idea they’re even breaking the law, so I just want to make sure they’re protected.”
Hildabrand’s bill copies a federal definition of fantasy sports leagues that exempts them from federal and interstate gambling laws and applies that to Kansas law. He called the proposal common sense.
He said even though the likelihood of a criminal prosecution against fantasy sports leagues is low, it doesn’t make sense to have laws on the books you don’t want enforced.
“We want to make sure we’re emphasizing rule of law and so the rules that we do have we want them to have a purpose,” Hildabrand said.
About 41 million people play fantasy sports in the United States and Canada, according to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, which is based in Chicago.
Despite his push to legalize the hobby, it turns out he’s not one of them. He said he’s never played fantasy sports.
Reach Bryan Lowry at 785-296-3006 or blowry@wichitaeagle.com. Follow him on Twitter: @BryanLowry3.
This story was originally published February 16, 2015 at 1:26 PM with the headline "Johnson County lawmaker wants to legalize fantasy sports in Kansas."