Lawmakes in Georgia Hold Hearing on Daily Fantasy Sports

Wednesday November 4,2015 :  GAMBLING EXEC SAYS THAT DAILY FANTASY SPORTS SHOULD BE REGULATED IN GEORGIA
 
Political hearing listens to a variety of views as it explores whether the state should regulate a popular pastime.
 
Lawmakers in the US state of Georgia held a hearing Monday as part of a legislative study on whether daily fantasy sports should be regulated.
 
During the hearing, chairman state Sen. Brandon Beach asked Keith Smith, the CEO of Boyd Gaming Corp. whether Georgia should follow efforts in other states to place rules on companies operating daily fantasy sports websites.
 
“This is a form of gambling,” Smith responded. “I am not opposed to daily fantasy sports, but I am opposed to unregulated forms of gambling.
 
“Games of skill require the participant to do something, shoot a basketball through a hoop,” he said. “Daily fantasy sports, you don’t control the outcome.”
 
The hearing was informed that Georgia state lottery officials have already commenced a study of DFS and its potential impact on the state, and have asked market leaders DraftKings and FanDuel for information about their business and the sector.