Any hope that Massachusetts would conform to the 19th state to legalize sports betting was extinguished Wednesday when the state Senate failed to approve the inclusion of this practice in the proposed economic progression plan through the House.
Home to some of the country’s most popular sports franchises, www.odds.com projects that Massachusetts can only expect about $35 million in annual tax profits from legalized sports betting. This projection is in the middle of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission’s estimate, which yields a wide diversity of between $9 million and $61 million.
The House saw a vote of 156 to 3 in favor of the plan for economics and employment, but the incorporation of sports betting generated controversy in the Senate.
The Senate finally approved the bill with unanimous support, but only after hours of deliberation, the sports betting sections were removed from the bill.
While many state senators have bratly expressed themselves over a legalized sports betting market, they felt that the timing was not right and that advancing the factor on the back of an emergency reaction bill would not send the right message.
Members of the Senate had submitted in their own edition of an invoice that also came with sports betting, but with the July 31 deadline imminent, they postponed the verbal exchange some other day to allow for proper deliberation.
House Bill 4887 aimed to temporarily identify sports in casinos and racetracks in the state, and its wording advised that the market would seek to offer many online offerings to create a competitive and easy-to-use market. Many states have demanded that web-based sports marry a physical casino to download a license, however, by renouncing this requirement, you would have noticed that Massachusetts would be offering one of the most varied offerings in the United States.
Another unique feature of the House bill is that it sought to offer a 1% site fee, where a percentage of all gross profits generated through an occasion taking a position on the Massachusetts state floor would pass to site owners. To be clear, Fenway Park would get 1% of all gross winnings from Red Sox home games as an attractive interpretation of the integrity tax most commonly proposed through the sports leagues themselves.
If implemented, it would be the first of its kind in the country, and some lawmakers argued that the budget deserves to be allocated to small towns rather than feeding the wallet of those already taking advantage of ongoing events.
The aheadArray ..
The long-term regulated sports market in Massachusetts seems brilliant, as many lawmakers have cited time constraints as the main explanation for rejecting the law initiative.
Senator Michael Rodrigues said regulated sports in Massachusetts would probably be operational in the near future, but given the existing situation, “the time has not come, nor is it the right way to do it.”
Rodrigues is not alone, as many senators echoed his considerations of forcing the factor on an invoice that was intended to serve as a reaction to the COVID-19 crisis.
With the passage of the request to extend the legislative deadline beyond July 31, the House and Senate now have until the end of the year qualifying to draft an independent bill to fully address the road ahead to legalize sports gambling. Until then, the citizens of Massachusetts will have to go to New Jersey and Rhode Island to legally gamble.
I’ve spent most of my professional career running across all spaces in the I-Gaming industry, gaining a leading view of its growing popularity in the American market.
I’ve spent most of my professional career running across all spaces in the I-Gaming industry, gaining a world-class view of its growing popularity in the American market. My mind and comments have been featured here at Forbes, as well as in the Wall Street Journal, the NY Times, CNN, ESPN, Barstool Sports and NBC Sports, to name a few. Therefore, as the sports virus continues to affect the United States, I will be here to help you analyze the latest developments and give you an idea of life at the other side of the counter.