Published: Feb, 23, 2021
By: Ryan Nelsen | LSU Manship School News Service
BATON ROUGE–More than two years after voters in most parishes approved fantasy sports contests, businesses can finally begin applying for licenses to begin operating the games within the state.
The Louisiana Gaming Control Board has published its final regulations for the prize contests, and the State Police’s gaming commission opened the application process Friday.
The approval process will take 60 to 90 days for each company, according to Maj. Chuck McNeal of the Louisiana State Police Gaming Enforcement Division. The applications must be submitted by mail, and as of Monday afternoon the department has yet to receive any applications.
Part of the process for the businesses will be to create virtual barriers around the 17 parishes that did not vote in favor of allowing fantasy gambling.
“They’re going to be, for lack of a better word, geofencing along parish lines, whether it be the parishes who opted out are blocked out, or the parishes that opted in are blocked in,” said McNeal.
Many states, like New Jersey, use this technological barrier to prohibit entrance into contests from across state lines, but the applicants will have to prove their software works along state and parish lines in Louisiana.
“They’re going to have to demonstrate that to us, and then they’re going to have to go to one of the state-approved regulatory gaming labs and prove to them also that it is not allowed to be played in the parishes that opted out,” said McNeal.
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