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                      -- Forbes - Congress Wisely Puts Legal Status Of Fantasy Sports Under Review

"How do fantasy sports differ from gambling? Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) seeks to find out and has disseminated a letter requesting that his committee review the legal status of fantasy sports and sports betting.

Most people that I discuss the fantasy sports industry with believe that there is little-to-no difference between entry fee style fantasy game play and betting; however, they enjoy partaking in fantasy sports and do not want to see the pay-for-prize version disappear.

Fantasy operators especially have no desire to witness the eradication of entry fee based fantasy sports. They, and their high profile investors, which include the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball and Comcast CMCSA +0.00% Ventures have too much money to lose. However, the operators do provide a legal answer to the ultimate question without much more of a substantive reply. Their response, time and again, is to cite to a 2006 federal act — the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA) — as grounds for a distinction between a bet or wager and an entry fee into a fantasy sports competition."