Orrick Public Policy Team Instrumental in Passing Louisiana Fantasy Sports Legislation

July.20.2020

Governor John Bel Edwards of Louisiana signed legislation on July 13 clearing the way for legal fantasy sports contests in the state and successfully capping a three-year effort by Orrick’s Public Policy Group. The bill creates a taxation scheme for fantasy sports and follows another bill, signed on June 9, which establishes regulations to govern the contests. These new laws will allow the state to act on fantasy sports legalization, which was overwhelmingly approved by voters in a 2018 referenda.

The Orrick team was instrumental in the passage of both bills on behalf of firm clients DraftKings and FanDuel. Orrick’s Public Policy Group has passed legislation affirming the legality of fantasy sports in 22 other states and Puerto Rico since 2016. The Orrick team was led by Erica Sechrist and includes partners Jeremy Kudon, Scott Ward, and Nicholas Green.

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Jeremy Kudon Partner, State Legislative & Regulatory Practice, Gaming & Gambling

New York

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Practice:

Technology & Innovation Sector
State Legislative & Regulatory Practice
Gaming & Gambling
State & Federal Government Solutions
Strategic Advisory & Government Enforcement (SAGE)

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Jeremy Kudon Partner

New York

No other group in the United States - whether at a law firm, public affairs firm, or inside the Beltway - can match Jeremy and Orrick's record of success in the state legislatures. Unlike others, who specialize in tracking bills, identifying contract lobbyists (and taking a % of their fee), or developing expensive media and PR campaigns, Jeremy and his team don't specialize in any one area of state government affairs; they specialize in EVERYTHING. They learn your business, work with you on your objectives--both overall and in the state legislatures, identify threats/opportunities, develop a budget, hire contract lobbyists, draft legislation, prepare advocacy pieces, attend legislative conferences, travel to state capitols and educate members about your issue, testify before committees, develop and implement grassroots and PR campaigns, coordinate roll calls, and coordinate every aspect of both the state and overall campaign to add the most possible value to your business.

Just listen to what the media and our clients have to say – The New York Times profiled our efforts in passing online sports betting and daily fantasy sports legislation in an extensive above-the-fold report and in an episode of their podcast, “The Daily.” And from an interview with TechCruch, DraftKings CEO Jason Robins said Jeremy and Orrick’s Public Policy team have “helped us go from a tech company that didn’t know a whole lot about legislative affairs and regulation to really being sophisticated there” and praised that “For anyone who’s in a disruptive industry and might be regulated, they really did a fantastic job.”