Washington to regulate fantasy football? Say it ain't so!
Posted by Jonathan Bechtle - July 14, 2010

About four years ago I was invited by one of my coworkers to join a fantasy football league, and though I knew next to nothing about the game, figured it was worth the old college try. It quickly became a passion (an obsession, if you ask my wife), and just last week I set up teams in three different leagues, one of which I run.

So it piqued my interest when I ran across House Bill 3134, introduced by Representative Marko Liias during the 2010 session. The title of the bill reads, "Regulating sports pool boards, bracket pools, and fantasy sports leagues." If passed, the bill would allow you to operate a fantasy league without a permit if observed the following rules:

•All money paid in entry fees would have to all go to the winner (no dividing of the pot);

•League records would have to be made available for inspection by the gambling commission or law enforcement officers upon demand at any time;

•The total amount of wagers placed by all entrants cannot exceed $100; and

•The league has to conform to any other rules created to enforce the gambling statutes

I understand the state's desire to regulate gambling establishments. But I'm running a little fantasy football league with my coworkers. With no money involved. And yet Representatives Liias, Brendan Williams, Geoff Simpson and Kevin Van De Wege wanted to give government 24/7 access to my league records? Thankfully this bill didn't progress past introduction, but that provides little comfort knowing that this kind of overreaching legislation is the norm, rather than the exception.