At its meeting on May 23, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) voted 5-0 to retain a tax on promotional play, rather than change it. The agency has not heard any real complaints from operators. The vote came after the commission studied tax revenue data from a few states to see the impact on finances.
But in the end, the group cited that retaining the tax coincided with what the legislature envisioned when it legalized sports betting.
“In short, I believe that the legislature intended to include promotional play within a sports wagering operator’s gross wagering receipts,” Commissioner Jordan Maynard told Sports Handle.
“I’m content with ending … what seems to be perpetual promotional play discussion and give some stability to the operators,” Maynard said.
In its support, some commissioners worried that ending the tax would trigger a rash of new advertising while others expressed concern over a short term revenue loss.
Commissioner Brad Hill hasn’t received complaints from the operators about the current tax setup.
“If it was such an issue, I would have thought it would be a huge outcry from our operators,” Hill told Sports Handle. “I haven’t heard a peep from any of them in regard to this.”
Most of the state’s operators asked for waivers related to a specific regulation about play management systems, including those that offer responsible gaming measures to limit wagering. These features, such as reminders when a player comes close to a self-imposed time limit, require software enhancements.
The MGC granted the waivers.
“I think [they’re] reasonable requests,” said Bruce Band, the MGC’s director of sports wagering. “Anytime you put a new thing into software it can cause problems, so I would rather have these all work properly and not have any issues with their current software.”
At a meeting on May 22, the MGC discussed violations by DraftKings for offering unapproved betting on tennis but made no decision. The commission’s investigation and enforcement bureau fined MGM Springfield $45,000 for underage gambling violations.
“We appreciate that MGM Springfield self-reported many of these instances and their ongoing cooperation to put enhanced practices into place to prevent similar incidents in the Future,” IEB Senior Enforcement Counsel Kathleen Kramer said in a statement. “The IEB will continue to monitor MGM Springfield’s compliance with the gaming laws and regulations and the remedial steps they have undertaken.”
