Fantasy Sports V. State Lottery
John Cañamar
Did you pick Cam Newton or Tom Brady to lead your team to victory, and you to the bank this week with your Fantasy Football winnings? Don’t worry about playing; it’s not illegal in Texas.
In Texas, sports fans can play all the fantasy sports they wish and not worry about any repercussions from the criminal courts.
On Jan. 19, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote an opinion, not any different than what I am doing in this piece. Nothing that I say will become law or change any law, the same as when Paxton wrote his opinion.
When Paxton replied to Representative Myra Crownover’s question on whether Fantasy Sports are legal or not in Texas, he concluded his nine-page opinion by saying:
“Under section 47.02 of the Penal Code, a person
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Will that ever happen? No.
Video slot machines in Texas are illegal, as are the Game Rooms where people gather to play these games. One of the main reasons it's illegal is that there is no accounting system in place to collect or record the amount of money that is taken in by the owners of these establishments.
Without accountability in place, the government cannot collect the proper amount of taxes.
The truth behind government agencies and Fantasy Sports is that the government wants more taxes than what are being paid in just income taxes on the 6-14 percent that companies like Draft Kings and Fanduel take on in the rake.
I believe that playing fantasy sports is more like playing in the stock market than gambling. Even if there is a risk of losing money in fantasy sports, you still pick your team (or stocks) with an educated guess, based on what players (or stocks) you think will perform well this week. The lottery is true gambling; you pick numbers and win by pure, dumb