The special commission appointed last year by the Massachusetts legislature to study the issue of online gaming such as eSports—excepting the lottery—is leaning towards an omnibus approach, according to reports.
The Special Commission on Online Gaming, Fantasy Sports Gaming and Daily Fantasy Sports is looking at a July 31 deadline to submit its recommendations to lawmakers. Last week it met to informally poll the nine-members on where they are leaning.
Rep. Joseph Wagner, one of the commission’s co-chairmen said at that meeting, “There are three options I think that we will look at,” adding, “There’s the gaming option, a type of structure where we have a separate law that would govern this; the omnibus approach, which is where we would give some authority some authority to oversee all of this; or to just simply let it play out for some time or more going forward.”
Last year the legislature passed a temporary measure that held that fantasy sports were legal, but set a deadline of July 31, 2018 for regulations to be adopted. That law created the commission.
The members Wagner polled last week appeared to favor the all-inclusive approach.
Massachusetts Gaming Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby, who also serves on the ad-hoc commission, said, “Our view is that the legislature’s job is to determine whether or not we want gambling online to be legal, and if the answer to that is yes, which it sort of presumptively appears to be, then come up with a regulatory environment that can deal with all of these things as they come down the pike and not have to try to be in a reactive model.” He said he support an approach “broad brushed, very clear in terms of values and parameters and regulatory criteria.”
He said it made sense for the Gaming Commission to be tasked with this oversight. “Though if it goes to somebody else it’s totally fine with us, we’re not invested in it one way or another,” he said.
Another member of the commission, Senator Jennifer Flanagan also called for a “very broad approach.”
Another commissioner, Hirak Shah, agreed that the “broad approach,” would be less likely to strangle the nascent industry.
Crosby added that the already authorized casino resorts, and the one slots parlor that is operating, should be given the right of first refusal for online gaming.
Crosby noted: “If there is going to be a major change in the gaming world … the bricks and mortar people have to be attended to. Wynn is putting down $2.4 billion, MGM is putting in $1 billion and their economic interests, just to be fair, should be seriously considered.” He added, “Probably, we would think that online casino gaming — and we’ve got a definitional problem here — online casino gaming probably should be anchored in the bricks and mortar casinos.”
The operators of casinos had previously testified that they would prefer that existing casino hold the online licenses.
