Effective 28 Aug 2019

313.915. Licensed operator to be identified on authorized website — operator requirements — segregation of player funds from operational funds. — 1. In order to ensure the protection of registered players, an authorized internet website shall identify the person or entity that is the licensed operator.

2. A licensed operator shall ensure that fantasy sports contests on its authorized internet website comply with all of the following:

(1) All winning outcomes are determined by accumulated statistical results of fully completed contests or events, and not merely any portion thereof, except that fantasy participants may be credited for statistical results accumulated in a suspended or shortened contest or event which has been called on account of weather or other natural or unforeseen event;

(2) Registered players shall not select athletes through an autodraft that does not involve any input or control by a registered player, or to choose preselected teams of athletes;

(3) A prize shall not be offered to or awarded to the winner of, or athletes in, the underlying competition itself; and

(4) Fantasy sports contests shall not be based on the performances of participants in high school or youth athletics.

3.A licensed operator shall have procedures approved by the commission before operating in Missouri that:

(1) Prevent unauthorized withdrawals from a registered player's account by the licensed operator or others;

(2) Make clear that funds in a registered player's account are not the property of the licensed operator and are not available to the licensed operator's creditors;

(3) Segregate player funds from operational funds as provided under subsections 4 and 5 of this section;

(4) Ensure any prize won by a registered player from participating in a fantasy sports contest is deposited into the registered player's account within forty-eight hours or mailed within five business days of winning the prize except as provided under section 313.917;

(5) Ensure registered players can withdraw the funds maintained in their individual accounts, whether such accounts are open or closed, within five business days of the request being made, unless the licensed operator believes in good faith that the registered player engaged in either fraudulent conduct or other conduct that would put the licensed operator in violation of sections 313.900 to 313.955, in which case the licensed operator may decline to honor the request for withdrawal for a reasonable investigatory period until its investigation is resolved if it provides notice of the nature of the investigation to the registered player. For the purposes of this provision, a request for withdrawal will be considered honored if it is processed by the licensed operator but delayed by a payment processor, credit card issuer or by the custodian of a financial account;

(6) Allow a registered player to permanently close their account at any time for any reason; and

(7) Offer registered players access to their play history and account details.

4. A properly constituted special purpose entity shall be approved by the commission as a sufficient means of segregating player funds from operational funds. A properly constituted special purpose entity shall:

(1) Have a governing board that includes one or more corporate directors who are independent of the fantasy sports contest operator and of any corporation controlled by the fantasy sports contest operator;

(2) Hold, at a minimum, the sum of all authorized player funds held in player accounts for use in fantasy sports contests;

(3) Reasonably protect the funds against claims of the operator's creditors other than the authorized players for whose benefit and protection the special purpose entity is established;

(4) Distribute funds only for the following purposes:

(a) For player account balance withdrawals or partial balance withdrawals made upon the specific request of the player;

(b) For income earned on the account, and owed to the fantasy sports operator, calculated as the remainder of all entry fees paid by users for fantasy sports contests minus all user winnings and cash bonuses paid or owed to users, payable to the fantasy sports contest operator;

(c) To the Missouri gaming commission in the event that the fantasy sports operator's license expires, is surrendered, or is otherwise revoked. The Missouri gaming commission may interplead the funds in the Cole County circuit court for distribution to the authorized players for whose protection and benefit the account was established and to other such persons as the court determines are entitled thereto, or shall take such other steps as necessary to effect the proper distribution of the funds, or may do both; or

(d) As authorized in writing in advance by any agreement approved by the Missouri gaming commission;

(5) Require a unanimous vote of all corporate directors to file bankruptcy;

(6) Obtain permission from the Missouri gaming commission prior to filing bankruptcy or entering into receivership;

(7) Have corporate governance requirements which prohibit commingling of funds with that of the fantasy sports contest operator except as necessary to reconcile the accounts of players with sums owed by those players to the fantasy sports contest operator;

(8) Be restricted from incurring debt other than to fantasy sports players under the rules that govern their accounts for contests;

(9) Be restricted from taking on obligations of the fantasy sports contest operator other than obligations to players under the rules that govern their accounts for contests; and

(10) Be prohibited from dissolving, merging, or consolidating with another company without the written approval of the Missouri gaming commission while there are unsatisfied obligations to fantasy sports contest players.

5. The commission, at its discretion, may approve other commercially reasonable approaches to segregation of funds so long as they adequately protect Missouri player accounts.

6. A licensed operator shall establish procedures for a registered player to report complaints to the licensed operator regarding whether his or her account has been misallocated, compromised, or otherwise mishandled, and a procedure for the licensed operator to respond to those complaints.

7. A registered player who believes his or her account has been misallocated, compromised, or otherwise mishandled should notify the commission. Upon notification, the commission may investigate the claim and may take any action the commission deems appropriate under subdivision (4) of section 313.950.

8. A licensed operator shall not issue credit to a registered player.

9. A licensed operator shall not allow a registered player to establish more than one account or user name on its authorized internet website.

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(L. 2016 H.B. 1941 § 313.930, A.L. 2019 S.B. 87)