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SB 1224

State Police Officers' Retirement System; membership for DWR conservation police officers.

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Creigh Deeds

Establishes state licensing and regulation for skill-based online fantasy contests, protecting players while clarifying these contests aren’t gambling or sports wagering.

Left in Finance and Appropriations
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WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · SB 1224

SB 1224 — Fantasy Sports Consumer Protection Act (aka “Fantasy Sports Protection Act”)

Status: Passed / multiple chamber actions; emergency rule authority; effective immediately (see bill text).
Primary sponsors: Rhoads; Chang. Related: HB 2206, HB 710.

Purpose / Intent

Establish a statutory regulatory framework for online fantasy contests (skill-based fantasy sports) to protect consumers, clarify their legal status relative to sports wagering and criminal gambling laws, and authorize the state gaming regulator to license, audit, tax, and enforce consumer-protection and anti‑fraud rules for fantasy contest operators.

Key provisions

  • Definitions: Establishes terms such as “fantasy contest,” “fantasy contest operator,” “entry fee,” “adjusted gross fantasy contest receipts,” “participant,” and “prohibited participant.” A fantasy contest is defined as a skill‑based, fee‑based online contest where prizes are determined by pre‑published scoring based on the statistical performance of athletes (not determined solely by a single team/score).

  • Regulatory authority: Grants the Illinois Gaming Board (the “Board”) authority to regulate fantasy contest operators, adopt implementing rules (including emergency rules), and oversee licensing, enforcement, audits, investigations, reporting, and penalties.

  • Licensing and operational requirements:

    • Fantasy contest operators must be licensed and meet minimum qualifications.
    • Operators must implement technical and operational controls to prevent underage participation and to verify the location of participants (location percentage).
    • Operators must comply with anti‑money laundering (AML) standards and other specified operational safeguards.
    • Operators are subject to independent audits and reporting obligations, and must cooperate with investigations of prohibited conduct (e.g., insider involvement).

  • Taxation and fees:

    • Authorizes fees, surcharges, civil penalties and a monthly tax on “adjusted gross fantasy contest receipts” (AGFCR — entry fees collected minus prizes, adjusted for in‑state participation).
    • Distribution examples in the text: registration/renewal fees (85% to State Gaming Fund for administration; 15% to Dept. of Human Services for compulsive‑gambling treatment programs). Taxes on AGFCR are directed (per statute text) to the Common School Fund. Civil penalties may be allocated (after investigative costs) to DHS for compulsive‑gambling treatment (subject to appropriation).

  • Consumer protections:

    • Self‑exclusion and compulsive‑gambling program coordination.
    • Supplier diversity goals for operators (inclusion objectives referenced).
    • Requirements for transparent published contest rules, prize structures, and scoring.

  • Criminal law clarifications:

    • Excludes fantasy contests conducted under the Act from the statutory definition of “sports wagering.”
    • Participants in lawful fantasy contests shall not be criminally convicted for gambling offenses under specified statutes.
    • Property used solely to host lawful fantasy contests is excluded from the definition of a “gambling place” under the criminal code.

  • Administrative procedure:

    • Grants the Board expedited (emergency) rulemaking authority and sets a deadline (e.g., rules adopted within 180 days of the Act’s effective date).

Who is affected

  • Fantasy contest operators: required to obtain licenses, comply with AML, age verification, consumer‑protection, audit, reporting, tax and fee rules.
  • Participants: gain legal clarity that lawful fantasy contests are regulated and not criminal gambling; have access to self‑exclusion and complaint mechanisms.
  • State regulators (Illinois Gaming Board): gain new supervisory, enforcement, and revenue collection roles.
  • State finances: new fee and tax revenue streams (offset by administrative costs); some funds directed to compulsive‑gambling treatment and education funds.

Procedural / timeline notes

  • The Board must promulgate rules (including emergency rules as allowed) to implement the Act; a 180‑day timeframe for rule adoption is included in the bill text.
  • The bill provides for immediate or prompt effectiveness in order to enable rapid implementation (emergency rulemaking authority is explicitly granted).

Potential impacts / considerations

  • Consumer protection and legal clarity for participants and operators; helps distinguish regulated, skill‑based fantasy contests from unlawful wagering.
  • Increased regulatory burden and compliance costs for operators (licensing, AML, audits).
  • New state revenue (taxes/fees) with directed uses (administration, treatment, schools).
  • Enforcement and oversight resource needs for the Board.
  • Industry and civil‑liberties stakeholders may debate definitions, tax rates, or scope of regulatory requirements (e.g., scope of contests covered, treatment of daily fantasy vs. season‑long contests).

For full statutory language, revenue formulas (e.g., exact tax rates on AGFCR), and procedural deadlines, consult the bill text and the Board’s implementing rules once adopted.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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