Starting today, fantasy sports enthusiasts in Maryland can actually win real prizes.

Under a new law passed in April and that takes effect today, fantasy sports are being exempted from state laws that ban various forms of gambling. Up until this point, fantasy sports fans could field a team in a league, but they couldn’t collect any monetary winnings from victories, reports the Gazette:

Websites such as ESPN and Yahoo host such competitions, in which participants assemble an imaginary lineup of real players and then track their team’s progress based on the players’ actual performance, and some offer prizes to the best-performing participants.

But while Marylanders still could play for fun, they were ineligible from winning prizes that were available to participants from other states, said Del. John A. Olszewski Jr. (D-Dist. 6) of Dundalk, who sponsored the legislation.

“This makes sure Maryland residents [are] put on the same playing field,” he said.

Some 30 million people across the country are estimated to participate in fantasy sports, generating some $800 million annually.