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BATON ROUGE, La. -- The State of Louisiana has always been an "anything goes" sort of place, what with its liberal drinking laws, myriad casinos and 24/7 Mardi Gras atmosphere.
But, strangely, one of the things that doesn't "go" in the Bayou State is wagering on fantasy sports.
Although Federal law legalizes fantasy sports wagering nationwide and deems it not a form of gambling but a contest of skill, individual states still have the final say on whether they think it's gambling and whether they want to allow it within their state borders.
Louisiana is one of a handful of U.S. states that doesn't permit it.
That could be changing, though, if a forward-thinking state representative from Louisiana has his way.
State Rep. Joseph P. Lopinto III, a Republican from Metairie, a New Orleans suburb, recently introduced a bill into the Louisiana House of Representatives that clarifies that wagering on fantasy sports is not gambling and legalizes the activity in the state.
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Gambling 911 caught up with Rep. Lopinto a few days ago and asked him how things are going with his bill.
Not surprisingly, he was upbeat and optimistic about its chances of success, despite recent similar efforts to legalize fantasy sports failing in two other states, Iowa and Indiana.
Here is a transcript of that interview:
Gambling 911: What is the current status of your efforts to legalize fantasy sports wagering in Louisiana?
Joe Lopinto: The bill was just introduced on April 13 and assigned to committee. Although it will start through the process soon, our session is 60 days long and I wouldn't expect it to make it through the process for at least six weeks.
G9: How confident are you that such a bill will pass?
JL: Considering Louisiana is only one in five states that don't allow this, I don't believe it is very controversial and it should pass.
G9: Why do you want to legalize fantasy sports in Louisiana?
JL: Why not? Fantasy gaming has evolved into a very popular pastime. Unfortunately, when Louisiana wrote its laws in 1997, it prohibited this activity unknowingly, because fantasy sports didn't exist. This simply amends our antiquated law to make us consistent with the rest of the country.
G9: Fantasy sports are already legal in the U.S., under the Federal Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) which the U.S. Congress passed in 2006. So why does your state have to legalize it?
JL: As I stated, our previous law, when enacted, did not have any exception. In fact, the language of this bill tracks the language of that and simply puts the same exception into our state law.
G9: Are you trying to legalize fantasy sports wagering in Louisiana so that in addition to private companies, state casinos and/or racetracks can also offer it? Why does the state legislature have to get involved, wouldn't this be something for your state gaming commission to approve?
JL: That has not been a consideration of mine. The state legislature has to be involved because it is a change of state criminal law. The gaming commission does not have authority over that.
By Tom Somach
Gambling911.com Staff Writer
