Sources tell InsiderAdvantage that the governor’s office is asking Attorney General Sam Olens for an opinion on the legality of unregulated fantasy sports gaming operations in Georgia. Gov. Nathan Deal’s office, still aggravated over Olens refusing to support the governor’s position on barring Syrian refugees from the state and giving them public benefits, mainly wants to know by what legal authority these companies are operating in Georgia and if their position can be challenged.
New York’s attorney general has been in the news lately challenging the lucrative operations of the two main gaming companies, FanDuel Inc. and DraftKings Inc.
InsiderAdvantage was the first to report that the Georgia Lottery Corp. questioned the legality of their gambling operations in the Peach State. In a Sept. 23 letter to the heads of those companies, it asked what “legal authority” they have to “independently operate fantasy sports games within the state of Georgia pursuant to Georgia law.” The letter by Georgia Lottery Corp. senior vice president and general counsel Joseph J. Kim declares that “various Georgia criminal statutes appear to be implicated because fantasy sports clearly fall within the state law definition of ‘bet.’” Kim writes that under state criminal statutes “bet” means an agreement that, dependent upon chance even though accompanied by some skill, one stands to win something of value.
Kim reminded Nigel Eccles and Jason Robins, CEOs respectively of New York City-based FanDuel and Boston-based DraftKings, that “the Georgia constitution prohibits gambling generally and only allows certain games which are run by the state” (specifically, by the Georgia Lottery Corp. in order to fund the HOPE scholarship, pre-kindergarten and other educational programs).
Two months ago Olens began questioning the media advertising by the two companies and was conferring with metro Atlanta district attorneys about the legality of these sports betting ads. But then nothing happened. Gov. Nathan Deal now wants to know what, if anything, Olens has to say in a formal legal opinion.
