HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHP) — Pennsylvania lawmakers introduced a bill that would modernize fantasy sports in the Commonwealth. The catch? The age to play would be raised to 21.
Representatives Sean Dougherty (D) and Jason Ortitay (R) introduced legislation that would ensure Pennsylvanians can access most of today’s popular fantasy sports contests. The catch? The bill would raise the minimum age of participation from 18 to 21 for paid fantasy sports contests
Lawmakers said more than 53 million people in the U.S. played fantasy sports in the past year, primarily in contest formats built around building a lineup of athletes and competing against each other.
Nationally, officials said 14 states have modernized their fantasy sports laws in recent years. These states include New York, Massachusetts, Virginia, Arizona, Delaware, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Illinois and Kentucky also passed legislation in 2026 authorizing fans to partake in these contests.
“New York, Virginia, Massachusetts – these are all states with nearly identical fantasy sports laws to ours that expanded those laws to include the latest in fantasy sports contests. As revenues have declined by nearly 35% in recent years, we can’t let Pennsylvania fall behind any further. This bill will not only get us back on the right track, but will also raise the minimum age to play to 21 years old. This legislation brings fantasy sports in line with every other form of gaming in the Commonwealth,” Dougherty said.
With the popularity of fantasy sports resurging nationally, Pennsylvania’s tax receipts from fantasy sports have experienced a fall of more than 34% over the previous five years. On the flip side of the coin, states that have modernized fantasy sports laws have reported fantasy tax revenue increases, even after years of decline, according to lawmakers.
In Massachusetts, there has been a reported growth of around 13% in the last two years after its expansion, while Arizona reported a 47% growth.
“Ten years ago, the State Legislature set a national standard for the regulation and taxation of fantasy sports contests. But today’s fantasy contests look different, and it’s well past time we updated our laws to reflect the fantasy sports fans are actually playing today. By updating our laws, we’ll not only make consumers safer, but lift up the entire state’s gaming industry with millions in new tax revenues at the same time,” Ortitay said.
In March, Ortitay wrote to the State Gaming Control Board urging them to authorize fantasy sports formats common in other states.
Lawmakers highlighted how the framework for regulating fantasy sports and generating money for Pennsylvania while allowing the fantasy sports industry to innovate has already been established under Act 42 of 2017.
The new legislation makes it clear that multiple different scoring systems are permissible in fantasy contests between players offered by licensed operators in Pennsylvania.