Louisiana lawmakers vote for fantasy sports gambling bill

Published 11:51 am Thursday, May 10, 2018

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Fantasy sports gambling through online sites such as DraftKings and FanDuel could soon be legal in Louisiana.

The Senate voted 21-15 for the proposal Wednesday, sending the House-approved bill to the governor. If Gov. John Bel Edwards agrees to the measure, voters will decide whether fantasy sports become legal in their communities on the Nov. 6 ballot.

NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune reports the measure sponsored by Republican Rep. Kirk Talbot would allow each parish to approve fantasy sports gambling through the November ballot initiative. If a parish votes against it, people could not legally play the games on their smartphones or computers while in that community.

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If parishes support fantasy sports gambling, additional legislation would be needed next year to determine how to regulate and tax games.