The Texas House has given preliminary approval to a bill that would legalize daily fantasy sports in the state by classifying it as a game of skill rather than a game of chance.
The bill passed 116 to 27 and is expected to gain final approval and be sent to the state Senate.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a nonbinding opinion in 2016 that said daily fantasy contests could be in violation of state gambling laws, which don’t allow betting on the performance of athletes. Paxton said DFS contests were games of chance in which success hinges on how well an athlete performs on game day.
At the time, FanDuel stopped accepting Texas customers while rival DraftKings challenge the opinion. FanDuel began accepting Texas customers again In August.
The bill’s sponsors acknowledged that many Texans play and participate in DFS contests.
“The law itself in the penal code isn’t clear whether you can grab up the conduct of close to 4 million Texans and have it criminalized,” state Representative Joe Moody, who authored the bill, told the American-Statesman.
