Ohio bill would regulate fantasy sports sites, Queen of Hearts and other for-profit pools

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Sen. Bill Coley, a Liberty Township Republican, said FanDuel, Draft Kings and other online fantasy sports betting pools are breaking Ohio law when they take a cut from entry fees.

Coley said Ohio law requires such pools to pay out 100 percent of their entry fees in prizes and those that don't aren't operating legally. Coley plans to introduce a bill strengthening the law and putting for-profit pools under the supervision of the Ohio Casino Control Commission.

Coley said the law would also apply to for-profit raffles and Queen of Hearts games, like the one sponsored by a Garrettsville bowling alley that awarded a $3.4 million prize Sunday. In that game, the earnings are either paid out or rolled over to the next round of play. The bowling alley said it kept nothing, but the game drew thousands of onlookers and generated an economic boost for the business and others in the small town.

Coley said state oversight would ensure ticket buyers that the game was conducted fairly.

"Promotions like these are very successful," Coley said during a Monday press conference. "But when you're taking a rake off the top, you're breaking the law and you need to stop doing that in the state of Ohio."

Coley said businesses wouldn't be shut down by the bill, but any game that doesn't award all of its entry fees as prizes could not be played in Ohio. For example, a $10 per entry pool that guarantees a $90 prize but requires 10 entries would not be allowed.

Although the practice is illegal, Coley said, local governments, which have jurisdiction, haven't been eager to enforce it.

2015: Lawsuit claims fantasy sports websites DraftKings, FanDuel violate Ohio law

2015: Lawsuit claims fantasy sports websites DraftKings, FanDuel violate Ohio law

A lawsuit says that fantasy sports websites DraftKings and FanDuel are operating illegally in Ohio, and that residents who paid them money should be reimbursed.

FanDuel and DraftKings, two popular daily fantasy sports sites that promise big payouts, disagreed with Coley's take on Ohio law. A spokesman for the two companies said fantasy sports are legal in Ohio, and they are working on updating Ohio's laws to reflect changes in technology.

"Sen. Coley is completely on an island -- isolated from Ohioans who love fantasy sports and isolated from his caucus where he has no support for his attempt to ban fantasy sports," Marc La Vorgna, spokesman for the two companies, said in a statement. "Just this year, eight states have already passed laws affirming millions of fantasy sports fans can continue to play. These policies have been vetted, proven and established and we hope Ohio is the next state on the list."

A federal lawsuit filed in Cleveland last year alleges FanDuel and DraftKings are breaking existing Ohio law and seeks damages including lost wagers. The companies have said their games are games of skill, not chance, and therefore not subject to Ohio gambling law.

Last year, lawmakers on the Joint Committee on Wagering and Gaming concluded Game of Hearts and similar games should be regulated by the same agency as casinos. The committee didn't reach a conclusion about daily sports fantasy games.