Fantasy sports dies after last second fillibuster

Fantasy sports legalization fails to get a final vote after a last second filibuster on the Senate floor from the same legislator who brought an ultimately doomed sports betting bill.

Fairness for Fantasy Sports spokesperson Ryan Berni says it’s a travesty that one legislator would seek retribution for his failed legislation by snubbing over 60 percent of voters that approved fantasy sports last year.

“It’s sad because at a certain point when do elections matter if certain legislators will subvert the will of the voters anyway?”

Martiny attempted to get his sports betting effort passed by amending it onto the fantasy sports bill, but that was undone earlier in the day when a conference committee agreed to strip the amendment.

Two bills had to be approved in the last fifteen minutes of the session for fantasy sports to be OK’d. The first passed by a comfortable margin, but when the second was brought up, Metairie Senator Danny Martiny took the floor and appeared to run out the clock…

“Ultimately Senator Martiny decided that his last act as a legislator would be to kill fantasy sports because he filibustered the final vote.”

Martiny is termed limited after having served 26 years in the Legislature.

The Metairie Republican has been noticeably frustrated by what he alleged were dirty tricks employed to prevent sports gambling from getting a fair vote on the House floor after it passed the Senate. He said this as he filibustered the vote…

“Look, I just don’t… I don’t think this is the way that you do business. I don’t like the way that I was treated.”

Martiny’s sports betting bill would have allowed voters in each parish to approve or reject sports betting at riverboat casinos, racetracks, or the land-based casino in New Orleans.