WASHINGTON — The House subcommittee hearing was labeled “Daily Fantasy Sports: Issues and Perspectives.”

The real purpose, however, for the nearly two-hour long hearing on Wednesday became clear minutes in: the decriminalization of sports gambling nationwide.

“The biggest thing for me is that I would like us to legalize sports betting,” Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) said after the hearing. “I am hoping this panel and the statements that were made about why it doesn’t make sense to allow (sports betting) to go underground and run by organized crime would lead us to some kind of legislation.

“The point is allowing sports betting to be legal in states like New Jersey who want it. That’s what I was hoping this would contribute to, primarily.”

Pallone was the driving force behind the hearing, asking for the U.S. House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade hearing to review daily fantasy sports to probe whether consumer protection legislation was needed.

And the landscape of daily fantasy sports was discussed extensively.

A handful of committee members queried the panel – which lacked representatives from FanDuel, DraftKings and the major sports leagues – about protecting the average daily fantasy player from algorithms used by elite players that tilt the odds in their favor, and the patchwork of state laws that currently govern how the daily fantasy is regulated.

Industry-leading DraftKings and FanDuel have been forced to cease operations for paid games in 12 states after daily fantasy was deemed illegal under respective state gambling laws: Alabama, Arizona, New York, Hawaii, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, Washington, Texas and Idaho.

Pallone said he was “disappointed” that FanDuel and DraftKings declined to attend the hearing. The NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB – leagues that have partnered and even purchased stakes in either FanDuel or DraftKings – also decided to skip the hearing.

“He wanted to show the hypocrisy in how leagues treat gambling versus their support of daily fantasy sports,” sports and gambling law attorney Daniel Wallach told USA TODAY Sports. “Unfortunately, there was no patient to examine since all the key stakeholders stayed away.”

Pallone said more hearings and legislation to protect consumers were possibilities.

“At worst, this hearing was a colossal waste of time,” said Wallach, partner at the firm Becker & Poliakoff. “Maybe (Pallone) elicited enough support for another hearing.”

Pallone has authored legislation over the years to exclude New Jersey from the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA), which, effectively, has limited state-sponsored sports betting to Nevada. None of his proposed legislation has moved out of committee.

Pallone also supports an appeal pending in front of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals as New Jersey argues it should be allowed to conduct sports betting at casinos and horse tracks. A decision by the appeals court is expected within weeks.

“I take the position that it’s not even constitutional,” Pallone said.

A line formed outside the hearing room in a House office building where inside, Fantasy Sports Trade Association chairman Peter Schoenke spoke on behalf of FanDuel and DraftKings.

“We don’t really feel that PASPA impacts us at all,” Schoenke told USA TODAY Sports. “We are a game of skill. That’s a law about sports gambling, so whatever Congress decides to do with that, we are neutral.”