FANTASY SPORTS PROTECTION ACT
SB0238 creates the Fantasy Sports Consumer Protection Act to establish a state regulatory framework for paid fantasy contests in Illinois. It authorizes the Illinois Gaming Board to license and oversee fantasy contest operators, adopt rules, conduct background checks, require audits and testing, investigate prohibited conduct, and enforce compliance through fees, surcharges, civil penalties, and a new monthly tax on adjusted gross fantasy contest receipts. The bill defines what qualifies as a fantasy contest, limits participation to persons physically located in Illinois and at least 19 years old, and sets out operational standards intended to preserve contest integrity and consumer protections.
The bill also amends existing law to distinguish fantasy contests from sports wagering and from criminal gambling offenses. It expressly excludes fantasy contests from the Sports Wagering Act’s definition of sports wagering and adds a gambling exemption so participants and operators acting under the new act are not treated as engaging in unlawful gambling. It further amends the Criminal Code’s gambling-place provisions so property used for lawful fantasy contest operations is not treated as a gambling place, and it gives the Gaming Board emergency rulemaking authority to implement the new framework quickly.
If enacted, SB0238 would add a new chapter of Illinois gaming law governing fantasy sports contests and would expand the Illinois Gaming Board’s regulatory authority over this market. It would create licensing, reporting, audit, tax, self-exclusion, anti-money-laundering, geolocation, and consumer-protection requirements for fantasy contest operators, while also directing certain revenues to the State Gaming Fund, the Common School Fund, and compulsive gambling treatment programs. The bill would also change the Sports Wagering Act and Criminal Code to clarify that compliant fantasy contests are not sports wagering or criminal gambling, and it would narrow the definition of a gambling place for lawful fantasy contest activity.
The available record shows no committee transcripts or recorded votes, so there is no documented floor or committee debate to gauge support or opposition. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears designed as a consumer-protection and regulatory bill rather than an expansion of unregulated gaming, with multiple safeguards aimed at integrity, age verification, self-exclusion, and problem-gambling mitigation. The overall framing suggests a policy approach that seeks to legitimize and regulate fantasy sports rather than prohibit them.
The main points of potential contention are likely to be the scope of state regulation and the cost of compliance for operators, including licensing fees, a 10% to 15% tax, audits, background checks, geolocation requirements, and reporting obligations. Another likely issue is the bill’s treatment of fantasy contests as lawful and distinct from gambling, which could draw scrutiny from those concerned about gambling expansion or from stakeholders who prefer lighter-touch regulation. The bill also includes supplier diversity reporting goals and mandatory problem-gambling measures, which may be viewed as important consumer protections by supporters but as additional administrative burdens by operators.