Massachusetts considering rollout of strong consumer protection laws for Daily Fantasy Sports industry

The Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) industry has been a hot topic for debate during the past month after Nevada decided to ban DraftKings and FanDuel, the two biggest DFS websites in the nation on the basis that the DFS market was similar to the casino industry and can no longer operate without a license.

A number of other states are also considering regulating the DFS industry and the state of Massachusetts has stated that the industry must have a more robust set of consumer protection regulations. Attorney General Maura Healey has put forth a proposal outlining ways in which minors and players within the DFS industry can be protected at all times.

The AG filed a petition with the office of the secretary of the state laying out a number of key points including strict data and security protection, careful monitoring of all financial transactions, ethical advertising, strict regulations prohibiting minors from accessing the website and a system in place to help gamblers with addictions. The Massachusetts government states that they were carefully monitoring the DFS industry from the beginning of 2015 and the proposal consists of suggestions that will mitigate the risks their study highlighted.

In a statement, AG Healey said “These regulations are a first of their kind for the Daily Fantasy Sports industry, and they focus on protecting minors, ensuring truthful advertising, bringing more transparency to the industry, and leveling the playing field for all consumers. This is a first step, but an important step, as we continue to evaluate this new industry and make sure our laws keep up with these evolving technologies.”

AG Healey’s staff had met with key individuals of DFS companies on a number of occasions to study and analyze company information pertaining to the DFS industry and also discovered that it was important to put rules in place to ensure that all DFS players have a level playing field so that the competition remained fair at all times.

Some of the suggestions within AG Healey’s proposal include preventing DFS companies from advertising or promoting DFS at any school or college campus; not offering any promotions that are not based on high school or college athletes’ performance; DFS employees who have insider information will not be allowed to take part in DFS concerns and experienced gamers must be prevented from playing against new gamers to avoid them from being exploited.

AG Healey’s proposal also states that DFS companies will limit deposits to $1,000 per month and exceptions should be allowed only when player verification is provided to show that they have the ability to sustain high losses and also looks to prevent DFS companies from providing players with credit facilities.