The state is instituting a NFL-based fantasy-football lottery game to try to support the Board of Horse Racing, which has been hemorrhaging money due to high liability and jockey insurance rates, according to Executive Secretary Ryan Sherman. The idea of using fantasy sports as a lottery game, however strange it may seem, is wholly legal under federal law, as Montana is one of four states grandfathered in the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, passed by Congress in 1992. Since Montana, Delaware, Oregon, and Nevada already had an existing form of sports gambling when it was passed, they were left out of the act, and are free to produce games like Montana Sports Action Fantasy Football. The gameplay is relatively simple: A player walks into one of the bars in Montana that also support keno and slots, before kickoff of the first game that week. Jo Berg, the Communications Manager for the Montana Lottery, estimates that there will be about 150 bars statewide that will be offering the game. Players select a lineup consisting of one quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end, kicker, and defensive unit. These elements aren't identified by name, but by their city and jersey number, and come with corresponding numbers that players must select (10-06, for instance, could represent Cincinnati's Carson Palmer) on a lottery slip. Wagers are allowed to be $5, $10, $20, $50, or $100. The scoring mirrors that of traditional fantasy football, with points awarded for things like touchdowns, yards gained, field goals, and defensive shutouts. The game, however, will pay out like a traditional lottery, with the top three point-scoring players each week collecting 74% of revenue from the week's statewide ticket sales.http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121935765240561711.html
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