Massachusetts could become the first state to allow sports wagers outside of a casino. That is the direction that a bill being discussed in the legislature would lead.
The Bay State has an enthusiastic population of sports fans, being the home of both World Series and Super Bowl champion teams. So, it’s not surprising that when the U.S. Supreme Court lifted the federal ban on sports betting in May 2018 that this state began immediately looking into legalizing sports book.
Nevertheless, it is close to a year since that court decision and so far nothing has happened in the legislature. If Governor Charlie Baker has his way, lawmakers will pass a sports betting bill by the summer. Currently his bill is before the Legislature’s Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies.
Massachusetts law allows a governor to directly propose a bill, which Baker did in January when he sent over a proposal to allow bettors to wager at either a casino or on mobile platforms. The state has two casinos, the MGM Springfield and the slots parlor Plainridge Park, with the Encore Boston Harbor looming in the wings to open in June.
The governor claims that his bill would create $35 million in state taxes that could be shared with municipalities. Bets would be taxed at 10 percent in casinos and 12.5 percent online.
In supporting his bill, Baker stated “Expanding Massachusetts’ developing gaming industry to include wagering on professional sports is an opportunity for Massachusetts to invest in local aid while remaining competitive with many other states pursuing similar regulations.” He added, “Our legislation puts forth a series of commonsense proposals to ensure potential licensees are thoroughly vetted and safeguards are in place to protect against problem gambling and legal activity.”
Wagering would be limited to those 21 and older and only on professional sports team. Betting on collegiate or high school teams wouldn’t be allowed and all coaches, athletes, referees or other employees of teams would not be allowed to participate.
The Boston Red Sox is cheering the prospect of sports betting. At last week’s unveiling of the MGM Resorts logo at Fenway Park’s Green Monster, the team president noted they support Baker’s plan. “We’d definitely like to see sports betting happen. It’s important for fan engagement. There’s a ton of illicit activity that we all know has been going on for a long, long time. So, we’ll let the state figure that out. It’s in their hands.”
MGM Resorts President Jim Murren, who was also at the unveiling, conceded that MGM does offer sports betting in jurisdictions where it is legal, but stressed that his company was after something else in partnering with the Red Sox.
“We did this transaction because we’re in line culturally and we’re in the entertainment business. MGM is an entertainment company. We look for fan engagement, we look for fan experiences and we’d love to do it here.”
DraftKings, the Boston-based company that started off as a daily fantasy sports provider and expanded to include sports betting in several states, is fully on board with the governor’s plan, as the company’s spokesman, James Chisholm explained recently in an interview with South Coast Today. “Baker’s initiative makes all the sense in the world for us,” he said. “Whether you like it or not, there’s already sports betting going on in Massachusetts, just illegally. Legalizing sports wagering would generate revenue, keep people safe, and create opportunities for the 600-plus employees here at DraftKings.”
Baker was at the ribbon-cutting for the company’s new corporate headquarters March 25, when he referenced his bill and once more called on lawmakers to give him a bill to sign by summer.
The New England Sports Network has begun carrying a sports book show called “Follow the Money” that originates in Las Vegas. It will run five days a week. In a press release NESN declared, “Sports-wagering regulations are changing quickly and with these changes we anticipate an increased interest in obtaining relevant and reliable sports information.”
State Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, who oversees the state’s very successful lottery, has been arguing for several years that the lottery should be allowed to embrace new technology and move online. She argues that the lottery should have a place at the table of sports betting. Recently she told lawmakers, “This is an operating company that needs to modernize, and what we are seeing across the world is a cannibalization of sales and the disruption caused for bricks-and-mortar companies by the internet.” She added, “And particularly, there are only so many entertainment dollars in total, so Lottery for a very long time was a predictable, terrific business, but it had no competition.”
Lottery Director Michael Sweeney fully supports that view. He told the joint Senate, House committee: “As the discussion continues about sports betting and the prospect of an online or mobile component to it, we see this as an opportunity to examine the Lottery and other existing forms of gaming in the state and establish regulations that provide a level playing field.”
The Massachusetts Lottery distributes aid to 351 municipalities, which they use to repair roads, fund programs for seniors, maintain parks and pay for recreation programs. Two years ago its net profit was $1.039 billion.
Baker isn’t getting any support for sports betting from the $42.7 billion budget that the House leadership proposed, which does not include money from that.
In January the governor submitted a budget that included $35 million from sports betting, but that wasn’t included in the budget released by the House Ways and Means Committee, and which is endorsed by Speaker Robert DeLeo. Instead the budget focuses on increased spending for public schools.
By taking out the sports betting revenue the house leadership is signaling that it wants to take a slower approach than the governor. DeLeo commented, “I think that is going to require a lot of discussion. I’m aware it could be an important source of revenue, but how we are going to do it … I don’t think it’s probably as easy as some people think it may be.”
