Across the United States, legislators are taking a look at daily fantasy sports betting. While some states are ruling the activity as an illegal one, others are putting regulations in place to be able to take advantage of the popular pastime. In Maryland, regulations were proposed yesterday by Peter Franchot, the Comptroller for the state, who believes that regulations are needed to ensure the DFS contests are fair and winners are paying state taxes on earnings.

In a statement on the need for regulation within the DFS industry, Franchot commented that the activity has established a significant presence within the state. It is now appropriate for legislators to begin making sure that such contests are fair, taxes are paid and that anticompetitive abuses are declared out of bounds.

As part of his regulation proposal, Franchot would like to see players who are under the age of 18 not allowed to take part in the DFS contests. Athletes who play professionally would also be banned from taking part along with employees, directors and other individuals who are connected to a fantasy sports operation.

Contests would not be allowed on amateur or college sports with gaming operators unable to extend credit to a player. Players would also have to be notified by operators as to their obligations in regards to taxes that will need to be paid. The use of ‘scripts’ will also be banned. Scripts are small programs that are used by players who have experience in DFS to have an advantage over another player, the more casual gamers. Players will also be limited to depositing $1,000 each month unless they have asked to have a raised maximum limit for deposit.

These regulations are now subject to public comment and will be reviewed by a state legislative panel. The state actually legalized fantasy sports betting in 2012 but only in small social groups who take part in season-long gaming, not DFS. Such gaming options as provided by FanDuel and DraftKings was not popular until after the legislation was put in place so DFS was not included.

FanDuel has seen the regulations created by the Comptroller and feels that the options are modeled after some of the best and strongest regulations already in place across the country. FanDuel stated they are still reviewing the information and look forward to working with the Comptroller during the comment period.