Legal DFS in Virginia to Be Limited to Big Companies?

Lawmakers in the state aimed for legal DFS in Virginia, yet their actions might castrate the small companies of the industry with fees set way too high, only affordable for the biggest actors of the market.

A bill enabling legal DFS in Virginia was signed by Governor Terry McAuliffe in March. This might be good news for daily fantasy sports players, but it hardly is for smaller DFS operators. Companies offering DFS in the state have to pay a $50,000 fee per annum to get their licenses renewed, US gambling news report.

Bill allowing legal DFS in Virginia helps DraftKings and FanDuel

This high annual fee is not an issue for industry-leading operators DraftKings and FanDuel, but it makes virtually impossible for smaller enterprises to offer legal DFS in Virginia, according to US gambling laws in the state.

Indiana also has a $50,000 DFS license fee according to the bill that was passed recently. However, that is a one-time fee and the annual charge is no more than $5,000. This is in line with the proposals taking shape in most of the states’ legislation. However, there are extremes as well. New York, where DFS operators DrafKings and FanDuel recently aborted their respective operations, is preparing to set a $500,000 registration fee for DFS operators applying for a license.

Though DraftKings and FanDuel protested for low registration fees, they were far from actively working against high entry limits, according to the reports. Florida lawyer Darren Heitner, who represents the small DFS competitors expressed his concerns about the situation. He said, “I can’t tell you that FanDuel and DraftKings wanted this type of situation. But they’re not displeased with them.”

The bill about legal DFS in Virginia will come to effect by July 1.