New Jersey lawmakers are looking to regulate the daily sites used by hundreds of thousands fantasy sports players in the state.
According to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, with more than 57 million people involved in leagues in the United States and Canada alone by 2014, fantasy football, baseball and other leagues have become a multi-billion dollar industry.
The average person playing fantasy sports spends $465 each year to participate, according to the association, with some of that money being spent on daily and weekly fantasy sports-related contests - like FanDuel and DraftKings - that some lawmakers say blur the lines between a skill-based game and online sports betting.
In September, U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-6th Dist.) asked Congress to review the legal status of fantasy sports and sports betting, and in New Jersey, State Sen. Jim Whelan (D-Atlantic) introduced a bill in March that would require daily fantasy sports companies to be regulated and vetted in the same way online gambling companies are.
"Clearly it's popular, and New Jersey and New York are big markets for them so considering the legal issues they've run into in New York we want to bring a regulatory framework here that could be a model for other states," said Whelan's Chief of Staff Mike Suleiman.
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Consumer safeguards would include verifying that a player is at least 18-years-old and making it illegal for someone with inside knowledge of games to participate, he said.
"We have been working with Senator Whelan and other key stakeholders to craft a regulatory framework that works for New Jersey hundreds of thousands of fantasy players," said DraftKings spokesman Ryan F. Toohey. "We think this bill still needs work to provide appropriate legal clarity for fantasy sports, and we look forward to continuing to work with the legislature on a solution."
In March, the bill was unanimously approved by the state senate committee with amendments and has moved to a second reading by the budget appropriations committee, and Suleiman said a companion bill was introduced in the state assembly.
"We hope residents play and enjoy daily fantasy sports," Seleiman said. "Certainly there's a segment of population who enjoy the daily competitions and there's a lot of money changing hands, but some just participate in a social, season-long activity."
One of those professional players is Benny Ricciardi of Weehauken, who told NJ Advance Media in December that he makes his living from the fantasy sports industry, both through betting and through producing content to fantasy sports sites.
He said he is concerned about the impact of the proposed state legislation.
"I live in fear every day that I'm going to wake up tomorrow and everything's going to be gone," Ricciardi says. "It would be devastating because this is my livelihood. This is how I'm making my money."
For social players like Michael Owdij of Branchburg, winner of this year's ESPN's Fantasy Football League Commissioner of the Year contest, fantasy sports are not about money. Rather, they are a way of staying close with long-time friends who have moved out of state.
Owdij is commissioner of "The Hoosh in the Boosh" fantasy football league which boasts two unique trophies: A 40-pound bronze ram titled "The Ramstein" given to the league winner and a crossed eye tiger statue named Hobbes for the loser.
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"It's really just a excuse for us to stay in touch," said Owdij, a Hunterdon Central Regional High School alum who's been playing in a league with the same seven guys since 2006. "It's a lot of fun. We were searching for a winners trophy for like two years. We wanted something offbeat, and everyone thinks it's hilarious."
Owdij, a North Hunterdon Regional High School biology teacher and freshman football coach, was nominated by his friend and fellow league member Mike Ace and the pair were treated to a tour of the Bristol, Conn., ESPN campus.
Owdij also won a custom ruby and diamond ring valued at $10,000, made by championship ring creator Jostens, two year's worth of Pizza Hut, $3,500 in gift cards and a custom 3D printed bronze bust.
Emily Cummins may be reached at ecummins@njadvancemedia.com Follow her on Twitter @EmilyACummins and Facebook.