Massachusetts Casinos Present Unified Front on Sports Betting Regulations

In the Massachusetts State House, three state-licensed casinos have presented a unified front to lawmakers about how sports betting should be regulated in the Bay State.

There are currently three several different proposals for a sports betting model. Gov. Charlie Baker’s proposal is one that would have a total ban on accepting wagers on amateur sports. Another proposal is to allow wagers on collegiate events except for those contests that involve a school from Massachusetts.

“We cannot compete with the legal market unless we allow betting on NCAA games. This betting ins going on currently and we’re not going to be able to offer a model that lures folds away [from the illegal market] unless we include what is one of the more popular forms of betting,” Sen. Brendan Crighton said.

In a joint testimony, representatives of the casinos said they wanted a legal sports betting market with a single-digit tax rate, between five and seven licenses awarded, and that the casinos should be the only places to accept bets at physical locations. Casino representatives also argued that mobile betting should be limited to the three casinos and “a limited number of daily fantasy operators with proven sports wagering experience.”