If you bet on fantasy football in Washington state, you could go to jail. Because there is an element of risk is picking winners of fantasy football, that makes betting on it a violation of the state’s gambling laws. It is, in fact, a felony, according to the state’s gambling regulators.
No one has been prosecuted for betting on fantasy sports in Washington, but the threat is enough to prevent some websites from taking paid entries from residents of the state.
Some lawmakers in the state would like to change the law. Senator Pam Roach declared last week, “I’m going to free the masses.” Her bill would differentiate between betting on “real” world sports and fantasy sports. It would also exempt fantasy games from regulation by the state gambling commission.
Roach’s bill is supported by the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, which issued a statement last week, “We think citizens of Washington should be able to play the full array of fantasy sports contests offered in 45 other states and be able to win prizes in free contests offered by major media companies.”
