MFL10s in VA (1 Viewer)

[renesauz]

 



 

New Law for Virginia Residents


The state of Virginia has passed a new law that becomes effective as of July 1st, 2016. Unfortunately, this new law makes it impossible for us to offer our MFL10s Leagues to participants from the state of Virginia for the remainder of the 2016 football season. Therefore, we have updated our Terms of Service so that residents of VA can no longer join MFL10s leagues after this Friday when the new law goes into effect. Any leagues that VA residents have already joined prior to the effective date of the new law will still be eligible for prizes. Note that this new development only applies to residents of the state of Virginia. All other users will be able to continue playing MFL10s the same as before. And VA residents can still use our commissioner league service as always.

This is certainly a frustrating development for fantasy sports enthusiasts in the state of Virginia, but it is also a major burden for the entire fantasy sports industry — especially for season-long contest operators and companies like ours that want to offer leagues with entry fees and cash prizes, such as the MFL10s. As part of the efforts to regulate these types of leagues and contests, the new law in VA contains some very onerous fees and requirements, which effectively forces us out of the market for customers in VA. For example, the licensing fee is $50,000 for any fantasy sports company that wants to operate in the state of VA. Needless to say, we are not able to comply with that type of fee and still be able to stay in business, so we are forced to shut down our operation of MFL10s in the state of VA as part of this new legislation. Virginia is not the only state that will be effected by new laws in the near future. Other states with recently updated legislation include: New York, Indiana, Colorado, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Missouri. In addition, other states like California are contemplating new legislation in the near future.

For those that aren’t familiar with the legal landscape of the fantasy sports industry, we will post more information here so you can stay informed, and so you can let your state government officials know that they are making a mistake by forcing many small businesses out of their state. In the meantime, if you want more information about all of the recent legal developments in fantasy sports, be sure to check out these two web sites:

• SBFSTA.org, which is a recently formed trade association that is fighting to keep fantasy sports legal and affordable in all states.
  
• Legal Sports Report, which is a news site dedicated to this type of information. In particular, this article that was published back in March has the details about the bill (although it wasn’t clear until very recently that the new law would take effect so soon).

 

[renesauz]

Saw the above news on MFL just now. Not sure what to make of it. Also not particularly happy as I'm supposed to have a couple of free entries this year from placements last year. Apparently, this was just posted to MFL in the last couple of days, yet I've heard nothing about it, and saw nothing here.

Anyone know more? (Yes, I live in Virginia)

 

[lowman2]

Yes we are screwed, our idiotic governor "Crooked McAullife" signed a bill  back in march regulating DFS. But what he really done is get in bed with Fanduel and Draftkings and charge everyone in the fantasy industry a 50,000$ fee. A fortune to season long company's but a drop in the bucket to the two big boys of DFS. Bottom line he eliminated any competition for the big two. So best thing to do is find private leagues to get into. 

 

[Fresh Prince of Bel Nor]

Yes we are screwed, our idiotic governor "Crooked McAullife" signed a bill  back in march regulating DFS. But what he really done is get in bed with Fanduel and Draftkings and charge everyone in the fantasy industry a 50,000$ fee. A fortune to season long company's but a drop in the bucket to the two big boys of DFS. Bottom line he eliminated any competition for the big two. So best thing to do is find private leagues to get into. 

Yup. This is exactly what happened in Missouri. Jay Nixon, the same POS who called in the National Guard to protect the government buildings in Clayton while giving everyone free reign to burn down Ferguson the night of the verdict, signed a similar bill. Starting August 28th, any fantasy site wanting to do business in Missouri would need to pay a huge fee for the privilege. 

I have been mourning the loss of my hobby since I heard that. Yeah, I have my local league and I suppose I could spend more on the big two, but those MFL10s and cheap season-long cheapies at dataforce.com have been such an outlet for me during the spring and summer. 

I guess this the last hurrah for fantasy as I know it...and I would imagine it is only a matter of time before every state signs similar bills. If there is money to be had, the local governments will take advantage. 

 

[renesauz]

Suxh a bummer. I love the cheap year long stuff. Not a fan of the dailys

 

[Go DC Yourself]

Might want to see if this guy got campaign donations from Fan Duel and Draft Kings:

SB646, sponsored by state Sen. Ryan McDougle, R-Mechanicsville, would impose rules and a $50,000 registration fee for fantasy contests, and it could provide the first test of a longtime federal law barring sports betting in most states.

McDougle has not responded to requests for comment about the legislation, which was the result of lobbying efforts by DraftKings and the Fantasy Sports Trade Association. DraftKings referred questions to the legislators who sponsored the House and Senate bills.

http://pilotonline.com/business/consumer/bill-could-sideline-season-long-fantasy-football-in-virginia-open/article_e73ad76c-03ca-5552-ab9e-ab06019a4704.html

 

[crusty crab]

Saw this yesterday too and was bummed. Was going to jump on the MFL wagon finally. I do DFS, and didn't even think about how the bills would affect seasonal leagues. I think these are the two bills that went into law:

https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?161+sum+SB646

https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?161+cab+HC10115HB0775+BREF

 

[nittanylion]

Hmm...very interesting if the FSTA was lobbying for this legislation. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the founding mission behind that organization was to support and promote fantasy sports in general, and at all levels, from traditional private season-long Leagues through the most extreme high stakes of National Contests. If so, am I missing something, or are the optics of this surprising, if not somewhat disapponting? This legislation supports and promotes a very specific segment of the fantasy sports industry (fan duel, draft kings), at the expense of the rest of the spectrum. You would think that FSTA would advocate for things that would benefit as many organizations/players in the constituency as possible, as opposed to being discretionary, and in a manner that tampers with the market in a way that benefits one, very high-profit segment of the market and punishes the little guys. Not everyone can be a Fan Duel/Draft Kings, who certainly have enough assets to go to bat for themselves without the support of an industry trade association. I think one could argue that lobbying for any legislation that benefits/shows favoritism for one group at the expense of others, especially when the others are the relatively little fish in the pond, at least could have the appearance of some impropriety on the part of FSTA, and offer the speculation that the FSTA is in Fan Duel/Draft Kings' pocket...if that's the case, it would be unfortunate for the industry in general.

 

[Arodin]

Hmm...very interesting if the FSTA was lobbying for this legislation. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the founding mission behind that organization was to support and promote fantasy sports in general, and at all levels, from traditional private season-long Leagues through the most extreme high stakes of National Contests. If so, am I missing something, or are the optics of this surprising, if not somewhat disapponting? This legislation supports and promotes a very specific segment of the fantasy sports industry (fan duel, draft kings), at the expense of the rest of the spectrum. You would think that FSTA would advocate for things that would benefit as many organizations/players in the constituency as possible, as opposed to being discretionary, and in a manner that tampers with the market in a way that benefits one, very high-profit segment of the market and punishes the little guys. Not everyone can be a Fan Duel/Draft Kings, who certainly have enough assets to go to bat for themselves without the support of an industry trade association. I think one could argue that lobbying for any legislation that benefits/shows favoritism for one group at the expense of others, especially when the others are the relatively little fish in the pond, at least could have the appearance of some impropriety on the part of FSTA, and offer the speculation that the FSTA is in Fan Duel/Draft Kings' pocket...if that's the case, it would be unfortunate for the industry in general.

Trade organizations turning out to be mere mouthpieces for their largest-contributing members?  Color me shocked!!

 

[stuckinthemuck]

If I could donate anonymously to  SBFSTA.org, I would do it. 

 

[Crafty Penguin]

If I could donate anonymously to  SBFSTA.org, I would do it. 

If you'd prefer to keep your donation anonymous, you can mail it to the SBFSTA address:

Mailing Address
The Small Businesses of Fantasy Sports
P.O. Box 7165
Appleton, WI 54912

Or you can email the SBFSTA to arrange something else if you'd prefer. All donations are kept anonymous if that is what the donor prefers.

Email 
info@sbfsta.org

 

[stuckinthemuck]

If you'd prefer to keep your donation anonymous, you can mail it to the SBFSTA address:

Mailing Address
The Small Businesses of Fantasy Sports
P.O. Box 7165
Appleton, WI 54912

Or you can email the SBFSTA to arrange something else if you'd prefer. All donations are kept anonymous if that is what the donor prefers.

Email 
info@sbfsta.org

Coolio. First heard about this initiative on your podcast. Thank you for all your efforts to keep a fun hobby alive. My check is in the mail. 

 

[Crafty Penguin]

Coolio. First heard about this initiative on your podcast. Thank you for all your efforts to keep a fun hobby alive. My check is in the mail. 

Glad to hear, and thanks so much for donating (and listening  ). The funds will definitely be put to good use!