Andy Gardiner Has Called for Regulation of DFS Since 2014.
Florida Senate President Andy Gardiner is exploring options to shut down daily fantasy sports inside the Sunshine State. Last week, the Republican from Orlando announced he had asked his aides to begin exploring what the senate can do to make it illegal for DraftKings and FanDuel to operate in Florida.
The senator did not say whether his aides were looking into a new legislative initiative to ban daily fantasy sports, or whether they were looking at existing laws which might be enforced. While the lawmaker appeared to be discussing enforcement instead of legislation, Gardiner ultimately does not decide how the laws the legislature passes are enforced.
Jake Carter on Gardiner
Sen. Gardiner has been a notable opponent of daily fantasy sports for a while now. Jake Carter of Rapid News Network wrote that the lawmaker was on a compulsive gambling panel in 2014. While the other panel members spoke about traditional forms of gaming, Gardiner wanted to discuss DFS as the “fastest growing gambling option“.
Carter quotes the senator saying, “It’s something that we’re deeply engaged in on the broader subject of daily fantasy-slash-sports betting.”
He said the senator not only predicted sports betting would be legalized, but that he hoped it would be regulated within a few short years.
Comparison to Internet Cafes
Andy Gardiner pits himself as a man out to eliminate illegal gambling operations. Most people see DFS as an unregulated, but legitimate, industry. For nearly 10 years, most people have agreed that all forms of fantasy sports are legal, because of a passage in the UIGEA which was meant as a carve-out for fantasy football leagues and Rotisserie baseball leagues. Now a few voices are saying DFS is not legal, and Senator Gardiner is one of them.
Gardiner compares DFS to Internet cafes, a controversial subject that seldom is compared to fantasy sports. The Senate President recently told the New Service of Florida, “I would remind you we ran the Internet cafes out of the state of Florida because they were outlawed and they were bad. You have the Nevada Gaming Commission saying that FanDuel and DraftKings are gaming and gambling. So we have an obligation, if we’re going to be consistent, that we need to look at them, and, if it is gaming, then we need to react to it.”
The quote is a reference to a legislative initiative in 2013, when Florida officials moved against Allied Veterans of the World. Allied Veterans of the World pretended to be a veterans charity, which was a cover for its illegal Internet cafe gambling enterprises. When lawmakers realized what they were up against, they quickly moved against Allied Veterans of the World.
About FanDuel and DraftKings
It is the first time someone has made that connection. DraftKings and FanDuel are businesses and have never pretended to be anything but moneymaking ventures. They have conducted well-publicized campaigns to draw investors. Those investors include NBC Sports, Comcast, Fox Sports, Jerry Jones, Robert Kraft, and a variety of respected holding companies.
The Disney Corporation came close to making a $1 billion investment in the industry, while Disney subsidiary ESPN takes millions and millions of dollars from DraftKings and FanDuel to run their commercials. To compare those companies to a fake charity scam is remarkable.
Steve Crisafulli on DFS
Florida House Speaker Steve Crisafulli was more measured in his words. Crisafulli, a Republican from Meritt Island, said on Wednesday, “It is early in this conversation and there is a lot to learn about the status of this industry under Florida law. We intend to understand that more before any decisions will be made moving forward.”
Brian Ballard, a lobbyist for the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, sees a motive in the various officials looking to shut down the DFS gaming in their states. Ballard said of the move last week by the Nevada Gaming Commission to shut down daily fantasy sports in their state “a hugely protectionist move”.
Ballard predicted the same decision would not happen in Florida, because the land-based gambling industry is not as influential as it is in Nevada. He added, “You can see pretty clearly they’re trying to protect the casinos and other interests they have [in Nevada]. I don’t think it’s relevant to what goes on in Florida.”
No Sportsbooks in Florida
One reason is the DFS gaming model has no natural competitor in Florida. The Las Vegas sportsbooks naturally see DraftKings and FanDuel as competitors, because sports fans might prefer to engage in fantasy sports than a traditional sports wager. It makes sense for politicians to shut down DFS gaming in Nevada, if they want to please the casinos which donate so much to their campaigns. In Florida, sports betting is illegal, so no moneyed interests exist to push for such a ban.
That does not mean a ban will not happen. It just means that it is less likely to happen. The fact sports betting is banned makes it easier to outlaw DFS, if it is deemed to be sports gambling.
Timing is going to be important in the coming daily fantasy sports debate. At the moment, DraftKings and FanDuel need some other story to dominate the sporting news cycle. Eventually, the news will die down, likely at the end of the NFL season, when commercials will be less visible. DK and FD might be better served if they had a moratorium, or at least a severe limit, on the commercials they continue to run. It might hurt business in the short term, but it won’t antagonize the people who decide their fate.
