The PAC’s formation marks a growing presence on Capitol Hill for the fantasy sports industry. Fantasy PAC plays in the real world

The games are fake. But the cash is real.

And starting this week, the Fantasy Sports Trade Association will begin fundraising for its newly established federal political action committee with the intention of giving to lawmakers supportive of the burgeoning online industry.


The association also intends to create several state-level PACs in coming months, likely targeting Washington, Arizona, Louisiana and New Jersey among other states featuring more restrictive sports gambling laws.

“Our goal is to preserve the federal gambling law carve-out that lets us operate and preserve the status quo for people to enjoy fantasy sports and do so legally,” said Travis McCoy, a Virginia attorney and Fantasy Sports Trade Association PAC treasurer. “We’re not looking so much at supporting any one party as we are focusing on being issue-specific.”

The PAC’s formation marks a growing presence on Capitol Hill for the fantasy sports industry. In May, the St. Louis-based Fantasy Sports Trade Association also hired McCoy’s McCoy Governmental Affairs and Legal Services to lobby the federal government on its behalf.

The association counts more than 100 fantasy sports purveyors among its ranks, including some high-profile companies: CBSSports.com, ESPN, the National Football League, NASCAR Media Group, Turner Broadcasting, USA Today and Yahoo.

People concerned about the political influence of the gaming and gambling industry should take note of this development, said Mary Boyle, spokeswoman for nonpartisan public interest organization Common Cause.

“If they’re trying to ramp up, they are trying to influence public policy and avoid regulation by the government,” Boyle added. “The money essentially buys access and influence, and it’s worth paying attention to.”

McCoy says his organization does not have a “hard and fast” fundraising goal for the 2012 election cycle, and it will most likely employ one lobbyist for the time being. But the Fantasy Sports Trade Association may expand its governmental affairs efforts in the future.

“I’d love for it to grow,” he said.

Kenneth P. Vogel contributed to this report.

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