Iowa Governor Terry Branstad says legislators should table a bill that would allow Iowans to legally claim the substantial prize money in online “fantasy sports” competitions.

Iowans may participate in contests in which competitors choose players from a variety of teams and “win” based on the way each of those individuals performs in a real game. However, state law prohibits Iowans from winning the kind of big prizes now available on sites like “Fan Duel” and “Draft Kings”. A bill that would make it legal to accept those prizes has cleared a Senate subcommittee and has been discussed by a small group of House members, but Branstad says the best option would be to have state gambling regulators study the issue first.

Last year the Iowa Senate approved a bill that would have classified fantasy sports leagues as “social gaming” — so Iowans could win prizes of any amount. Under current law, Iowans who assemble a “team” of real professional athletes on a “fantasy” squad can win no more than 50 dollars a day in any competition. The chairman of the tax-writing committee in the Iowa House says he has no plans of taking up a bill to change that.