Several bills that would legalize sports betting are being mulled by the Massachusetts legislature, including one proposed by Governor Charlie Baker. DraftKings and similar companies are hoping to see some action on sports betting sometime soon.
DraftKings, which was born in Boston as a daily fantasy sports provider several years ago, has evolved into a sports betting provider in several states such as New Jersey since the Supreme Court lifted the ban on sports betting one year ago. It has been at the forefront of those lobbying for lawmakers to make a place for sports book in the Bay State.
But so have others who want a place at the table, including sports leagues and the Massachusetts State Lottery.
Last week DraftKings lobbyist James Chisholm told the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies, “Sports betting is happening right now in Massachusetts.” He continued, “It’s happening every day. It’s just happening illegally. What we want to see happen in Massachusetts is that it’s legalized, it’s regulated, there’s a competitive, open market that fully embraces mobile.”
DraftKings is arguing for sports book that embraces technology so that bettors won’t be confined to brick and mortar casinos, such as Plainridge Park Casino in Plainville, which sent a representative to the same forum: Chris Rogers, senior vice president with Penn National Gaming.
“Certainly, we disagree,” he said. “There’s a strong rationale, I think, to have the licenses run through the casinos. It acts as another safeguard, from a compliance perspective.” Rogers is only interested in the participation of DraftKings if it partners with a casino like his.
Another claimant to the right to offer sportsbook is the Lottery, whose executive director, Michael Sweeney, argues that the lottery, one of the most successful in the country, will begin a long slow decline unless it fully embraces the newest mobile technology. That extends to the small retail operations that sell lottery tickets.
Sweeney told lawmakers, “If I’m a Haitian American, if I’m a Vietnamese American, if I’m a Latino entrepreneur trying to make my restaurant succeed, trying to make my bar succeed, trying to make my convenience store succeed, why am I going to be shut out of the conversation of additional foot traffic?”
Does all this activity mean that the legislature will soon pass a sports betting bill? “I wouldn’t bet on it,” Senator Eric Lesser, who is one of the co-chairman of the Committee told WBUR last week.
Lesser stressed that he and co-chairman Ann-Margaret Ferrante, are “still in the fact-finding stage of all this. As I think has been well-reported, this is a complex issue.” He added, “It is an issue we want to be very diligent with and we want to make sure that if Massachusetts is to go forward with this, that we do it properly.”
The legislature will hold a two-day hearing at the end of May in which it will invite speakers such as members of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission and later public comment.
MGC Chairman Cathy Judd-Stein says she will testify, and that the commission will also reissue an update of the White Paper it released about sports betting last year.
Lesser said the first question before the committee will be not the form that sports betting will take, but whether it’s a good idea at all. “There is the threshold question here of whether we want to do sports gaming in Massachusetts. I think it’s important before we rush into a decision of what a legalization would look like that we answer that threshold question of whether we want it.”
The co-chairmen say they haven’t yet formed opinions on the issue but they do know issues they want to delve into such as tax rate, the lottery’s role, ensuring game integrity and risk management.
