Massachusetts Schedules Hearings on Sports Gambling

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is still in the tiring process of sports gambling legalization and debates are still in progress. Although some other US states had no problems and are already making money from legal sports betting…

…Massachusetts lawmakers just can’t find common ground and a solution that will end this long process.

Two Hearings Scheduled for this Week

Lawmakers announced two hearings this week, and they may potentially make progress in the development of sports wagering in this state.

But, legislators have a bit of a problem, because there is a total of nine different sports betting bills that have been introduced in the state of Massachusetts…

…while one of the bills was also submitted by the state governor, himself, Charlie Baker.

The first hearing will be held on May 28, where the t Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies will hear testimony from attendees on all the pros and cons of legalized sports gambling.

The second hearing will take place on Wednesday and it will be an open forum where the public will give its input on the subject.

So, if state lawmakers manage to find common ground and push the legislation process ahead, it would become the second state in the New England region to authorize the activity.

Sports Betting in New England

Rhode Island was the first New England state that officially approved its sports gambling bill last year…

…but many people believe that this industry didn’t show as good results in this state as they were expected.

Also, there was already one lawsuit filed in Rhode Island, which is actually questioning the legality of sports gambling in this state. On the other hand, the industry did nowhere near the revenue that was anticipated.

More Details on Massachusetts Bills

According to Governor Baker’s bill, sports gambling would be allowed solely on professional sports only…

…while collegiate and high school games would be forbidden.

Of course, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission would be in charge of the industry and it would have the task to establish all regulations and hand out licenses.

In his bill, he proposes a 10% tax on revenue from land-based operations and 12.5% on mobile bets.

Each potential operator would have to issue $100,000 when submitting its application….

…and if it gets approved, the operator would get a five-year license that would cost $500,000.

Taxation of Daily Fantasy Sports

The governor also wants to tax daily fantasy sports that the state has officially legalized, but doesn’t collect any tax on.

If Baker’s plan proves successful, that might change. It seems that many states believe they need to reinvent many things when drafting sports gambling legislation.

Experts from the Gaming Commission claim that the legal sports betting in the state could generate an annual gross gaming revenue (GGR) of around $408.6 million…

…based on both retail and online betting.

If the betting is allowed only in casinos, then the lowest GGR amount would be at around $127.4 million.

Source:

“Massachusetts schedules hearings on sports gambling”, Erik Gibbs, calvinayre.com, May 27, 2019.