California Assembly committee approves daily fantasy sports legislation

A California Assembly committee has approved a daily fantasy sports bill, the first such forward progress any state has made on the DFS legislative front.

Wednesday saw the California Assembly Committee on Governmental Organization meet to consider Assemblyman Adam Gray’s AB 1437, aka the Internet Fantasy Sports Game Protection Act. The bill was filed in September as a means of regulating, licensing and taxing DFS activity in the Golden State.

Prior to the hearing, Gray filed a number of amendments to his bill, including bans on commingling player funds with operating capital, some mild advertising restrictions, prohibitions on DFS employees playing on other sites and tagging high-volume players with a scarlet letter so fish know when they’re being stalked. But Gray’s bill still hasn’t specified what the state will seek in terms of license fees or taxes.

The proceedings got off to a bad start for Gray, who, as the bill’s sponsor, left his chairman’s seat to take his place in the witness box, only to discover his microphone didn’t work. But that was about the only obstacle Gray faced on Wednesday.