Governor Jay Nixon wants state lawmakers to tax daily fantasy sports and regulate the industry like gambling. During his State of the State address last month, Nixon called on the legislature to do so and said applying a tax could raise millions of dollars for things like education.

Senator Kurt Schaefer (R-Columbia)

Senator Kurt Schaefer (R-Columbia)

Senator Kurt Schaefer (R-Columbia) has filed a bill that would include standardized guidelines.

“Since it is generally is over the internet, it’s going to be more effective if you’ve got kind of a national standard that each state is able adopt if they so choose, rather than going state by state. Some form of regulation is appropriate to make sure that it’s not being abused and participants are appropriate ages,” said Schaefer.

Nixon thinks daily fantasy sports is gambling. Schaefer’s bill doesn’t include a tax or regulate the industry as gambling.

“I don’t look at everything out there as some way for the state to get more money,” said Schaefer. “There’s some legitimate issues about people underage getting their parents credit card and getting online.”

Representative Scott Fitzpatrick (R-Shell Knob) has filed a House bill that would legalize gambling on daily fantasy sports. He doesn’t consider fantasy sports to be gambling, but instead a game of skill.

Fitzpatrick is considering a number of amendments, including one that proposes a tax and another would require participants to be at least 18 years old to play.

Several states, including Illinois, have made playing daily fantasy sports illegal.