Despite neighboring states continuing to benefit from the lack of sports betting in Massachusetts, the Senate has failed to come to an agreement on a bill. But many legislators are betting that 2021 will finally be the year the bill gets passed.
BOSTON – After years of delay, the new speaker of the state House Ronald Mariano has declared there will be an open debate on the possibility of legalizing and regulating sports betting and gaming in the coming weeks.
The bills, S.254 and H.516 respectively, were previously part of a larger economic development bill and shot down. Recently, however, they were brought up as individual bills to be discussed and investigated further.
Rep. Bradford Hill, R-Ipswich, has been one of many legislators on the forefront of the state’s push for legalizing sports betting ever since the U.S. Supreme Court allowed states to do so three years ago.
“We filed bills immediately,” Hill said in an interview. “We thought it could be something we can use as a revenue enhancer, because, quite frankly, people in Massachusetts like to gamble.”
Neighboring states such as New Hampshire and Rhode Island have already begun to see the benefits of legalizing and regulating sports betting and gaming, with the added benefit of getting Massachusetts citizens to cross state lines just to place bets.
“We’re finding that a lot of people are going up to Rhode Island or New Hampshire to place bets, but we should be capitalizing on our own citizens,” Hill said.
This idea expands into mobile sports gaming as well, which has grown to be immensely popular over the last year during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many people were unable to physically go into casinos. Such mobile betting sites allow users to make bets from their phones, further widening the amount of bets that can get placed while also expanding the audience -- both of which result in an increase in potential revenue.
“We've got a whole new focus group that we need to focus on,” Rep. Michael Soter, R-Bellingham, said in an interview. “If we're going to make this successful, and we need to, gaming is one of those things that we can start with.”
On the opposition, many senators and representatives have voiced concern over how legalization of sports betting, even if regulated, might take money away from other areas of need.
“One of the main concerns is that you’re taking away limited dollars people have that can be spent on recreational opportunities like going to eat, or visiting the zoo,” Sen. James Eldridge, D-Acton, said in an interview. “If you’re going to expand sports betting, does that have a negative impact on small businesses?”
Especially during a time like this, when small businesses have already been hit so hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, Eldridge, among many others, says he is even more concerned about how these businesses can stay afloat with fewer people spending money on them. Eldridge pointed out that the implementation of casinos received mixed reviews with many people enjoying the addition, while others voiced disapproval for how less money was in circulation between people.
“I generally support regulation, but I am concerned if it will create a corporate structure to sports betting that could take away from small businesses,” Eldridge said. “Now that casinos are fully built and we can see the impacts they’ve had, and we are now able to look into sports betting.”
In response, legislators in favor of the bill have voiced eagerness to use the potential additional revenue towards COVID-19 relief funds. Since, the sports betting industry has become so popular, it has the ability to quickly assist people the Massachusetts government wants to provide funds to.
“It’s a thriving business that can become safer while also bringing back valuable revenue that we can use for a wide range of services,” Sen. Brendan Crighton, D-Lynn, said in an interview. “We introduced pretty hefty licensing fees so that before bets are even placed, we’ll have revenue coming in to aid pandemic relief efforts amongst other stressful needs.”
Those fees were estimated to amount up to “$10 million per entity”, meaning a potential $80-90 million could be netted from the various companies such as MGM, Draft Kings, and FanDuel amongst others.
“We can just look at the revenue in New Hampshire and see that we could put a lot of revenue towards worthwhile programs,” Crighton said.
Going forward, optimism remains strong for those in favor. With a new speaker of the House, and an open debate planned to be held in the coming weeks, many are excited to potentially allow Massachusetts citizens to gamble and game on sports as they desire.
“It’s long overdue,” Crighton said. “I’m confident that during this next legislative session, we’ll pass something.”