Verticals / Daily fantasy
Daily fantasy
Paid daily fantasy sports is legal and live in 28 states and DC, as of Oct 12, 2026. 3 states allow it in a limited form.
Daily fantasy sports (peer-to-peer contests).
LiveLimitedContestedProhibitedNot authorized
By state
| State | Status | Launched | Model | Current tax | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | Live | Sep 9, 2021 | Competitive | 5% OTHER (total) | HB 2772 added a dedicated Fantasy Sports Contests chapter requiring Department of Gaming licensure of fantasy sports contest operators and defining "fantasy sports contest adjusted revenues" (entry fees less prizes, times the in-state participant percentage). |
| Arkansas | Live | 2017 | Competitive | 8% NET_REVENUE (total) | Act 1075 of 2017 (originally H.B. 2250) declares paid-entry fantasy sports contests are not gambling, imposes an 8% DFS privilege tax on net revenue, but creates no licensing regime or consumer-protection rules. Arkansas became the 11th state to legalize DFS under this framework. Minimum age to play traditional DFS is 18 per DFA/secondary guidance, versus 21 for licensed sports wagering. |
| Colorado | Live | Competitive | 0% OTHER (total) | Fantasy Contests Act (HB16-1404); operators with 7,500 or more Colorado users must register and license with the state. Minimum age to play is 18.? | |
| Connecticut | Live | Hybrid | 13.75% OTHER (total) | Fantasy contest operators that charge entry fees must establish a relationship with one of the three Master Wagering Licensees (Mohegan Tribe, Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, or CT Lottery Corporation) and hold an online gaming operator license; informal no-entry-fee leagues among friends are exempt regardless of player location. | |
| Delaware | Live | Competitive | 15% NET_REVENUE (total) | Operators register with the Division of Gaming Enforcement/Lottery Director rather than obtain a full gaming license; subject to a 15% tax on net adjusted revenues plus a $50,000 annual fee; fee/tax administration now runs partly through 30 Del. C. § 2301(d)(3). Before HB 249, the Delaware DOJ had taken the position (announced around July 2016) that paid-entry fantasy sports contests could not legally operate in the state; HB 249 reversed that by declaring DFS a "game of skill." Registered operators as of the DGE's most recent General Assembly report include DraftKings, FanDuel, PrizePicks, and Underdog. Pick'em-style (player-vs-house) formats are not separately addressed by statute. | |
| District of Columbia | Live | Competitive | 0% OTHER (total) | DC's "sports wagering" definition expressly excludes "any fantasy or simulated game or contest such as fantasy sports" meeting conditions including human participants and skill-based outcomes, so peer-to-peer DFS operates outside the sports-wagering licensing regime. | |
| Illinois | Live | Jul 1, 2026 | Competitive | 15% AGR (online) | Peer-to-peer daily fantasy sports had operated for years under the Illinois Supreme Court's reading that it falls within the Criminal Code's "bona fide contest for the determination of skill" exemption, without a dedicated state license. SB 3019 (Public Act 104-0468) created Illinois' first statutory fantasy-contest licensing framework, effective July 1, 2026, with a 90-day compliance window for incumbent operators after rulemaking. A "fantasy contest" is an online contest of skill between two or more participants with an entry fee, meeting enumerated skill criteria; the definition excludes pool sports wagering, single-participant contests played against the contest operator, and contests with no entry fee. Operator license fees are $500 initial/$300 renewal for a small operator (up to 7,500 patrons over 365 days) and $7,500 initial/$5,000 renewal for a larger one. Participants must be at least 21. Contests are taxed at 15% of adjusted gross fantasy contest receipts. This licensing framework covers classic, multi-participant DFS only; single-player pick'em-style contests played against the house are a separate, unresolved category (see the dedicated pick'em-contest entry on this page). |
| Indiana | Live | Competitive | 0% OTHER (total) | SEA 339 (2016) legalized and licensed paid fantasy sports contests, enforced by the IGC's Paid Fantasy Sports Division; outcomes must reflect participants' knowledge/skill (IC 4-33-24-9). | |
| Iowa | Live | Oct 25, 2019 | Competitive | 6.75% OTHER (online) | Iowa separately licenses "internet fantasy sports contests" under ch. 99E: a $5,000 initial license fee for a term of up to 3 years, a minimum player age of 21, and an annual renewal fee of $1,000 (or $5,000 if the prior year's adjusted revenues were $150,000 or more). |
| Kansas | Live | Competitive | 0% OTHER (total) | K.S.A. 21-6403 excludes a qualifying "fantasy sports league" from the definition of "bet" in Kansas's criminal gambling statutes, treating DFS as a game of skill outside the KELA licensing framework; no dedicated DFS license or tax applies. The exclusion requires that no team be based on an actual team's current roster, that prizes be fixed in advance and not depend on the number of entrants or fees paid, and that outcomes reflect participants' relative knowledge and skill rather than the score or a single athlete's performance in one real-world event. | |
| Kentucky | Live | Competitive | DFS previously operated in Kentucky without dedicated statutory licensing (an earlier HB 742, the "Fantasy Sports Consumer Protection Act," was introduced in the 2025 session but did not pass committee). HB 904 (2026), enacted via veto override, requires KHRGC to license fantasy contest service providers, mandates independent audits and anti-fraud/anti-money-laundering controls, and sets the minimum age to play a fantasy contest at 18. The companion revenue bill HB 757 (2026) separately defines a tax-paying "fantasy contest participant" as 21 or older for purposes of its 12% excise tax on fantasy contest providers, so the age that triggers the tax is higher than the age the licensing law sets for play itself. | ||
| Louisiana | Live | Competitive | 8% NET_REVENUE (total) | Act 322 (H.B. 484, 2018) created the Fantasy Sports Contests Act effective August 1, 2018, but made Gaming Control Board regulatory implementation contingent on a November 6, 2018 parish referendum; voters approved DFS in 47 of 64 parishes, representing about 92% of the state's population (operators must geofence out the 17 rejecting parishes). Implementing/tax legislation stalled in 2019 after being combined with a failed sports-betting bill, and Gov. Edwards later signed a bill setting the DFS tax rate in a subsequent special session. | |
| Maine | Live | Competitive | 0% OTHER (online) | Fantasy contests are treated as a distinct, lawful category separate from both sports wagering and the tribal Internet-gaming chapter, which explicitly excludes fantasy contests from its own definitions. DraftKings and FanDuel DFS products operate in Maine.? | |
| Maryland | Live | Competitive | 15% OTHER (online) | Called "Fantasy Competitions" in Maryland law; registered (not licensed) operators; 12 registered operators as of the regulator's current list (Yahoo Fantasy Sports, DraftKings DFS, FanDuel DFS, etc.). | |
| Massachusetts | Live | Apr 8, 2016 | Competitive | 15% AGR (online) | Regulated as a consumer-protection matter by the AG under 940 CMR 34.00 (adopted Apr 8, 2016) and since the 2022 sports wagering law also taxed as "fantasy contests" at 15% of adjusted gross fantasy wagering receipts under c.23N §14. DraftKings and FanDuel are headquartered in Massachusetts. |
| Michigan | Live | Competitive | No revenue tax on contest entry fees; MGCB license fees only ($10,000 initial, $5,000/year renewal). OTHER (total) | Licensed peer-to-peer fantasy contests regulated by MGCB; initial license fee $10,000, annual renewal $5,000 (MCL 432.503). Casino licensees and qualifying tribal gaming/sports-betting/igaming licensees may offer fantasy contests without a separate license. Small private contests (<=15 players, <=$10,000 total entry fees/year, >=95% payout) are exempt from licensing. | |
| Mississippi | Live | Competitive | 8% NET_REVENUE (total) | H.B. 967 (2017) replaced a 2016 law that had a one-year sunset; it requires MGC licensure ($5,000 fee) for fantasy-contest operators with 100 or more Mississippi players drawn from the general public, bars operator employees from playing, and requires operators to verify that each player is at least 18 years old. A separate provision for fantasy contests offered on-premises at a licensed casino instead requires player verification at 21 or older, so the minimum age is 18 for ordinary contests and 21 for casino-based ones. Before 2017, the Mississippi Attorney General had opined that paid-entry fantasy sports was illegal gambling under state law. | |
| Missouri | Live | Sep 8, 2016 | Competitive | 11.5% NET_REVENUE (online) | Signed by Gov. Nixon June 10, 2016; MGC emergency rule effective September 8, 2016. College/amateur-competition contests prohibited; minimum age 18. |
| New Hampshire | Live | Competitive | No fee or tax on daily fantasy sports operators. RSA 287-H requires only Lottery Commission registration (287-H:2) and consumer-protection compliance; an earlier 2016-17 bill draft had proposed both an upfront fee and a revenue tax, but the enacted law imposes neither. OTHER (online) | Operators must register with the Lottery Commission (287-H:2) before offering paid-entry fantasy contests; must verify players are 18+ (287-H:3(I)(f)); separately exempted from the RSA 647:2 general gambling ban (647:2 V(d)) and from the RSA 287-I sports-wagering chapter (287-I:16). | |
| New Jersey | Live | Competitive | 19.75% OTHER (online) | Operators pay a 19.75% operations fee on fantasy sports gross revenue as of July 1, 2025 (was 10.5%). | |
| New York | Live | Competitive | 15% GGR (online) | Legalized via 2016 legislation after then-Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's 2015 opinion that daily fantasy sports was illegal gambling under New York law. The law's constitutionality was challenged in White v. Cuomo; a 2020 appellate ruling against DFS was reversed 4-3 by the Court of Appeals on March 22, 2022, which held fantasy sports contests are not "gambling" under the New York Constitution. | |
| North Carolina | Live | No fantasy-sports-specific tax. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 18C-902(e) exempts 'fantasy or simulated games or contests' meeting the statutory definition from both the licensing and the tax provisions of the sports-wagering Article (Art. 9); operators pay no state wagering/gaming tax on DFS contest revenue. OTHER (online) | A dedicated statutory carve-out, N.C. Gen. Stat. § 18C-902(e), exempts "fantasy or simulated games or contests" from the sports-wagering Article where winning outcomes reflect players' relative knowledge/skill and are determined predominantly by accumulated statistics of individual performance — keeping peer-to-peer DFS outside both Article 9's sports-wagering licensing and Chapter 14's general gambling prohibition. A 2017 bill that would have required DFS operators to register with the Secretary of State failed in a House committee. The Lottery Commission's sports-wagering rules separately define "fantasy contests" in nearly the same terms and carve pick'em-style, proposition-mimicking products back out of the DFS definition, which are instead regulated as sports wagering. | ||
| Ohio | Live | Competitive | No fantasy-sports-specific tax. Ohio Rev. Code § 3774.02 (fantasy contests, added by HB 132) requires only a nonrefundable license fee paid to the Casino Control Commission (amount set by commission rule, not stated in statute); it imposes no GGR/revenue tax. Press coverage of HB 132 noted DFS operators remain subject to Ohio's general Commercial Activity Tax (0.26% of gross receipts, R.C. 5751), which applies to virtually all Ohio businesses and is not a gambling-specific tax; a proposed 6% DFS tax was not adopted in the enacted bill. OTHER (online) | HB 132 (signed by Gov. Kasich Dec. 2017) gave the Casino Control Commission licensing/regulatory authority over peer-to-peer fantasy contests; min age 18; youth/college-only fantasy contests excluded. | |
| Pennsylvania | Live | Apr 28, 2018 | Competitive | 15% AGR (online) | 17th state to legalize DFS; operators licensed and taxed on adjusted revenue. |
| Rhode Island | Live | No Rhode Island tax currently applies to DFS. DFS operates under a February 2016 Attorney General opinion (not a licensing statute) with no fee or tax obligation. A 2025 bill, H 6076 (Fantasy Sports Consumer Protection Act), would impose a 10% tax on fantasy-contest adjusted revenue along with licensing and consumer-protection requirements. OTHER (online) | Rhode Island has no dedicated DFS-licensing statute; DFS is treated as legal under a February 2016 Attorney General (Peter Kilmartin) opinion applying the state Supreme Court's "dominant factor" test (chance is not the dominant element in DFS), while urging the legislature to regulate it. Classic DFS operators (DraftKings, FanDuel and others) operate and accept Rhode Island players under that opinion without any licensing statute. A 2025 bill, H 6076 ("Fantasy Sports Consumer Protection Act"), would create licensing, consumer-protection requirements, a 10% tax on fantasy contests, and a self-exclusion program.? | ||
| Tennessee | Live | Competitive | 6% AGR (online) | Fantasy sports operators must submit a Fantasy Sports Operator Application to the SWC and undergo third-party compliance audits; implementing rules at Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1350-05. | |
| Vermont | Live | Competitive | No revenue/GGR tax on DFS. 31 V.S.A. § 1333 requires only a flat $5,000.00 annual registration fee per operator, due on or before October 15 each year the operator offers contests to Vermont consumers; the statute imposes no percentage-of-revenue tax. OTHER (online) | Fantasy sports contest operators must register with the state (§1333) and meet consumer- protection and fair-advertising requirements (§§1331-1332); the Attorney General enforces (§1334). Enacted alongside the 2023 sports wagering law (Act 63). | |
| Virginia | Live | Jul 1, 2016 | Competitive | 10% NET_REVENUE (online) | Virginia was the first state to formally legalize and regulate DFS (2016), originally under VDACS. A 2026 recodification moved regulation to the Virginia Lottery, raised the minimum player age from 18 to 21, set a $50,000 nonrefundable initial permit fee ($25,000 to renew), and imposed the state's first DFS tax: 10% of operator revenue (97.5% to the general fund, 2.5% to the Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund) plus a separate 2.6% regulatory fee, with a 90-day transition period for incumbent operators. |
| Wyoming | Live | No Wyoming tax or fee applies. Wyo. Stat. §9-24-101(a)(iv) defines 'fantasy sports contest' and §6-7-101(a)(iii)(O) excludes such contests from the statutory definition of 'gambling' entirely; the Gaming Commission does not regulate, license, or tax DFS operators, and its May 2025 public warning reaffirmed the legality of fantasy sports in Wyoming without any fee/tax mention. OTHER (online) | Fantasy sports contests (as defined in §9-24-101(a)(iv)) are excluded from the statutory definition of "gambling" entirely; the Gaming Commission's May 2025 public warning reaffirms "the legality of ... fantasy sports in Wyoming." The Commission does not regulate or license DFS operators. | ||
| Florida | Limited | Competitive | 0% OTHER (total) | Traditional season-long, peer-to-peer DFS contests (DraftKings, FanDuel "classic" contests) continue to operate in Florida. However, the FGCC's September 2023 cease-and-desist letters characterized daily fantasy sports broadly as prohibited wagering on contests of skill under § 849.14, creating ongoing legal uncertainty for the format generally even though enforcement to date has targeted only pick'em-style products.? | |
| Nevada | Limited | Hybrid | 6.75% GGR (online) | In October 2015 the Gaming Control Board found that daily fantasy sports constitutes a sports pool/wagering under Nevada law and requires a sports-pool license; DraftKings and FanDuel suspended Nevada operations rather than seek licensure. Only licensed sports-pool operators may legally offer DFS-style contests. | |
| West Virginia | Limited | Competitive | No enacted DFS-specific tax or fee. West Virginia has no DFS licensing statute currently in force; legality rests on two non-binding Attorney General opinions (2016 Morrisey opinion finding 'select fantasy sports are legal'; an Aug. 6, 2025 McCuskey opinion on PrizePicks-style pick'em products that found it technically meets the sports-wagering definition but left the question to the Legislature). HB 3481 (2025) would have created formal DFS licensing with a 15% tax on adjusted gross DFS receipts, but has not been enacted (a similar 2024 predecessor, HB 5667, died in committee). OTHER (online) | West Virginia has no DFS-specific licensing statute or tax currently in force; the activity is understood to be lawful based on two non-binding Attorney General opinions rather than an enacted framework. AG Patrick Morrisey's 2016 opinion (requested amid since-failed SB 529) concluded 'select fantasy sports are legal' under state law. A second opinion by AG JB McCuskey, dated August 6, 2025 and addressing PrizePicks' single-player ('against the house') product, was non-committal -- it found the product technically meets the sports-wagering definition but that the Lottery Sports Wagering Act's undefined 'daily fantasy sports' exclusion leaves the question to the Legislature, and could not resolve a separate skill-vs-chance question without expert evidence. HB 3481 (2025, introduced by Del. J. Cannon, March 18 2025) would create formal DFS licensing under the Lottery Commission with a 15% tax on adjusted gross DFS receipts and a minimum age of 19; it has not received a floor vote or been enacted, and a similar 2024 predecessor (HB 5667) died in committee. | |
| California | Contested | Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a formal opinion on July 3, 2025 concluding that daily fantasy sports contests, both draft-style and pick'em formats, constitute illegal wagering on sporting events under Penal Code 337a, regardless of where the operator is based. The opinion is advisory rather than a court ruling, and Underdog Fantasy has sued to challenge it on skill grounds; that lawsuit was still pending. | |||
| Minnesota | Contested | No Minnesota statute specifically licenses or prohibits daily fantasy sports. In 2016 a state regulator stated there was "no prohibition" on DFS and that it should "follow federal law" pending legislative action; a 2016 DFS regulation bill passed the House but not the Senate, and a later bill (HF 1415) failed 74-48. A federal court separately declined to resolve DFS's legality in Minnesota in litigation it heard. DFS operates in this unresolved gray area rather than under clear authorization.? | |||
| Nebraska | Contested | Nebraska Racetrack Gaming Act regulations explicitly list "a fantasy sports contest" among wager types licensed sportsbooks may NOT accept as a sports wager; this reflects DFS being treated as distinct from licensed sports wagering, not a ruling on DFS's own legality.? | |||
| New Mexico | Contested | Competitive | New Mexico has no dedicated DFS statute. DraftKings and FanDuel continue operating in New Mexico, but a December 23, 2025 AG opinion (requested by the Gaming Control Board chairman) applied the Gaming Control Act's four-part "game" definition (60-2E-3(O)) to DFS and found the "private context" and "no one profits except through winnings" prongs likely weigh against DFS being lawful, while declining to issue a categorical ruling and noting legality would turn on case-specific fact-finding or legislative clarification. The opinion is persuasive, not binding, and no enforcement action has followed it. | ||
| Oregon | Contested | A Nov. 13, 2025 Oregon AG opinion (OP 8297) concluded that fantasy-sports contests are 'gambling' under ORS 167.117(7) because roster-construction skill does not eliminate the chance element inherent in real-world player performance, and that Oregon has not enacted a fantasy-contest exemption. A 2017 bill to license DFS through the Lottery Commission did not pass. DraftKings stopped offering paid DFS contests in Oregon in July 2021, citing legal uncertainty, while continuing to operate the state's sportsbook monopoly.? | |||
| South Dakota | Contested | No South Dakota DFS statute exists. In 2015, AG Marty Jackley publicly stated he would not pursue felony prosecution of individual DFS players, but said legislative clarity was needed on operators' legal status; then-Gov. Dennis Daugaard disagreed with Jackley's framing and indicated he viewed DFS as a form of gambling. No statute or enforcement action on DFS has followed as of October 2026. | |||
| Texas | Contested | Texas AG Ken Paxton's non-binding Opinion KP-0057 (issued 2016-01-19) concluded that paid, entry-fee daily fantasy sports leagues likely constitute illegal gambling under Penal Code 47.02, rejecting the "skill" defense because Texas law requires only partial chance. FanDuel suspended paid Texas operations in 2016; DraftKings disputed the opinion and continued operating. No court has ruled on the question and no statute has been enacted either way. | |||
| Wisconsin | Contested | Wisconsin has no DFS-specific statute; the state constitution bans gambling with exceptions for raffles, bingo, the state lottery, and tribal casinos, and whether DFS falls under that ban turns on an untested skill-vs-chance question. In 2016, AG Brad Schimel's office said it had received no complaints about DraftKings/FanDuel and had no position on whether DFS is skill or chance, neither banning nor authorizing play; Rep. Tyler Vorpagel introduced AB 800 to register and classify DFS as a game of skill, but enactment was not confirmed. The conflict between an inconclusive AG non-position and other states' (NY, IL) contrary "DFS is gambling" determinations, with no Wisconsin resolution, supports contested rather than operational or not_authorized. | |||
| Alabama | Prohibited | AG Luther Strange issued cease-and-desist letters to DraftKings and FanDuel in April 2016, concluding paid peer-to-peer DFS contests are illegal gambling under Title 13A-12 because chance is a "material element" of outcomes beyond entrants' control. Both operators exited the state; no statute has since authorized DFS. | |||
| Hawaii | Prohibited | AG Opinion No. 16-1 (Jan. 27, 2016, AG Doug Chin) concluded paid daily fantasy sports contests (e.g. DraftKings, FanDuel) are "contests of chance" involving "future contingent events not under the person's control," making them illegal gambling under §712-1220, while casual season-long leagues among friends may qualify as legal social gambling. Multiple post-2016 legalization bills (incl. 2021's HB 850) have not passed. | |||
| Idaho | Prohibited | 2016 Idaho AG opinion concluded paid daily fantasy sports contests are illegal gambling under §18-3801's definition (risking value for gain contingent on a sporting event, in part); DraftKings and FanDuel stopped serving Idaho residents by May 1, 2016. | |||
| Montana | Prohibited | Montana's internet-gambling statute has long been cited as one of the few explicit statutory bars on daily fantasy sports; DraftKings and FanDuel have historically blocked Montana customers. A 2017-era bill (HB 181) would have created a small-stakes ($100 fee cap) fantasy-sports exemption; its final disposition has not been confirmed. | |||
| Washington | Prohibited | Washington applies a strict "material degree of chance" test with no fantasy-sports carve-out; the Gambling Commission takes the position that pay-to-play fantasy sports contests are illegal gambling, and DraftKings/FanDuel exclude Washington customers from paid contests. | |||
| Alaska | Not authorized | No statute authorizes or exempts daily fantasy sports. DraftKings, PrizePicks and other operators run contests on the theory that they are skill-based rather than chance-based, but Alaska's "contest of chance" definition applies "notwithstanding that the skill of the contestants may also be a factor," so that defense is untested here. No Alaska court ruling, AG opinion, or enforcement action has settled the question either way, and the pending sports-betting bill (HB 145) would not regulate DFS.? | |||
| Georgia | Not authorized | No Georgia statute specifically authorizes or exempts peer-to-peer daily fantasy sports; general gambling prohibition theoretically applies but is not enforced against it. | |||
| North Dakota | Not authorized | No North Dakota statute addresses daily fantasy sports; DFS falls under the general gambling definition of N.D.C.C. § 12.1-28-01 with no specific carve-out or licensing framework. National DFS operators (DraftKings, FanDuel) have nonetheless operated in the state for years on a skill-vs-chance theory, without AG Gaming Division enforcement or a dedicated complaint venue for problems with these apps; this is unauthorized/unregulated gray-market presence tolerated without enforcement, not a legal carve-out. | |||
| Oklahoma | Not authorized | No Oklahoma DFS statute has ever been enacted. House Bill 2278 (2016), which would have created an "Oklahoma Fantasy Contests Act" to license and regulate DFS operators, stalled in the Legislature after tribal gaming interests (including the Cherokee Nation) opposed it; sponsor Sen. David Holt dropped the bill. DraftKings- and FanDuel-style contests are commonly reported to continue operating in the state without explicit statutory authorization or prohibition. | |||
| South Carolina | Not authorized | No statute defines or authorizes peer-to-peer daily fantasy sports. The Attorney General's office has said it is "not taking action on online gambling," and DFS operators (PrizePicks, Underdog, DraftKings/FanDuel DFS) operate without a specific state license or prosecution, but without a clear legal carve-out either. H.3625 and H.444 would add fantasy-sports definitions and an exemption from §16-19-130 if enacted. | |||
| Utah | Not authorized | No Utah statute specifically authorizes or bans peer-to-peer daily fantasy sports; DFS operators (DraftKings, FanDuel) continue to offer contests to Utah users on the theory that outcomes are skill-based, which is untested in Utah courts. |