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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndiana lawmakers are considering the possibility of regulating daily fantasy sports sites.
State Rep. Alan Morrison, R-Terre Haute, said he will author a bill that would add basic consumer protectors and transparency to the sites. He also would like to see the fantasy firms register with the state and pay an annual fee. A final component of the bill would allow Indiana's casino's to offer their own daily fantasy sports options or partner with prominent fantasy sites.
Hoosiers are currently allowed to play the sites, but the state has no control over who can offer the games.
"We've seen several states across the country trying to regulate this, or some ban it entirely, like Arizona," Morrison said Wednesday. "The attorney general of Indiana hasn't offered an opinion on this and it has been left up to the General Assembly. I think it's time to do something."
The popularity of daily fantasy sites has exploded recently. Legal battles are underway in several states as officials attempt to determine whether the contests are legal and if they should be subject to regulation as a form of gambling, The Evansville Courier & Press reported.
Representatives of popular sites FanDuel and DraftKings argue daily fantasy contests are games of skill, not games of chance, and are thus exempt from federal bans on online sports betting.
The Indianapolis-based NCAA has tried to distance itself from fantasy games and asked DraftKings and FanDuel to stop offering college versions of their games because they consider them gambling.
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