The Minnesota House last week voted down a bill that would have officially legalized daily fantasy sports. That scuttled efforts by the fantasy community to officially put into state statute the legality of such contests. People today, in Minnesota, can play fantasy sports, but only because there is nothing on the books specifically making it illegal.

Opponents of expanding gambling have fought against efforts to legalize daily fantasy across the country. Anne Krisnik, executive director of the Joint Religious Legislative Coalition, for example, wrote a letter to legislators in early April arguing that gambling is addictive, has huge social costs, victimizes the poor, and “creates unmanageable debt and strips individuals of their savings and employment while creating significant burdens on families.”

That, she argues, leads to family breakdown and divorce.

Local fantasy guru Paul Charchian, who is president of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association and co-host of the KFAN radio show Fantasy Football Weekly, also has founded LeagueSafe.com and the reborn Fanball.com. He joined MNSBB to discuss why this bill is important to those who play fantasy sports and explain where those who support these efforts go from here

MNSBB: People in MN are currently playing daily fantasy sports – why was this bill important? What would it do?

Charchian: Minnesota’s fantasy sports bill would accomplish two things: it would formally legalize fantasy sports in Minnesota and it would add a layer of common sense regulation to the state. Currently, Minnesotans are allowed to play fantasy sports because there are no laws prohibiting it. This bill would codify the legality of fantasy sports, which is important to any company that wants to do business in the state. The regulation would let the state know which companies are doing business here and provide a framework for best practices (age restrictions and separation of prize funds, as two examples).

MNSBB: Are there groups out there specifically trying to make daily fantasy sports illegal?

Charchian: We have few opponents, but the ones we have are social conservatives. They conflate fantasy sports with gambling and assert that our efforts will lead to an expansion of gambling. Obviously, we disagree.

We worry that they’ll take their victories from the 2018 legislative cycle and try to criminalize fantasy sports in Minnesota in 2019.

MNSBB: What’s your response to the people who say legalizing daily fantasy sports opens the door to other forms of sports gambling expansion that, for various reasons, they aren’t comfortable with?

Charchian: First, let’s note that daily fantasy is a legal activity in Minnesota today. The fantasy sports industry is asking the state to provide a platform to ensure consumer safety with light touch regulations that require fantasy companies to follow best practices.

Further, daily fantasy is a game of skill. If my mother tried to play, she’d almost always lose. There’s a reason that there’s countless fantasy sports advice sites, radio shows, and podcasts. It’s because informed participants perform better than uninformed participants.

And further yet, there’s this: everyone knows people who play fantasy sports. Everyone. Does anyone anywhere know someone whose family has been ruined by fantasy sports? Of course not.

MNSBB: Are you not expecting the Senate companion to the House bill to get any action this year?

Charchian: It seems unlikely since the House torpedoed the bill.

MNSBB: So, with the defeat in the House, where does this go from here?

Charchian: We’ll have to come back next year with a better plan to battle the social conservatives that have successfully lobbied the house and senate the last three years. We also need to do a better job activating the nearly 1M estimated fantasy sports players in Minnesota.

Also, in 2019, it’s possible (likely?) that the Minnesota legislature will be considering legalizing sports betting. Fantasy sports can be an adjacent part of that discussion.

MNSBB: Do you have a position on the issue of sports gambling legalization?

Charchian: We’re on the cusp of, potentially, the biggest sea change to ever hit the fantasy sports industry. If the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruling on sports wagering goes as expected, legal sports betting will be a reality in many states as early as this year.

Our industry has maintained (and continues to maintain) the distinction between sports betting and fantasy sports. But realistically, any state that legalizes sports betting is a state that’s likely to formally legalize fantasy sports too.

Opening up many new states to fantasy sports contests would be one key advantage, but hardly the only one. What I’m most excited about are the myriad gameplay innovations that will occur. We’ll see many fantasy companies flex their gameplay into sports betting and vice versa.

Consumers will love all the new ways to play.

Some fantasy companies will morph into hybrid fantasy-sports betting operators. The FSTA intends to support those member companies.

The biggest potential downside to the legalization of sports betting is the prospect of heightened, costly regulation. If fantasy sports operators are lumped together with sports gambling companies, fantasy sports companies may be required to meet the regulatory standards of gambling companies—generally a much higher bar than the fantasy industry enjoys today.

The SCOTUS ruling will be covered extensively in the FSTA’s summer conference, including detailed research from today’s fantasy players as we learn about their interest/intentions in sports betting.