It’s not until 10 a. m. , but the casino at Encore Boston Harbor is already buzzing with excitement.
In-person sports betting will be streamed live in Massachusetts at 3 sites: Encore, Plainridge Park Casino in Plainville and MGM Springfield. It was decided that just over two dozen winners in Everett would be among the first people in the Commonwealth to legally position the sports. bet.
Malden’s Mark Lawhorne bet $100 (cash through the casino) that the Bruins will win the Stanley Cup at one of the well-lit touchscreen kiosks set up for punters.
“Well, obviously, everything has been waiting for a while and it’s time for us to be one of the 36 states that are part of it,” he said.
This is a big moment in the long saga of sports betting, an industry that is expected to generate $70 million to $80 million in revenue for the state each year. And now that, regardless, it’s online, all eyes are on the state’s new money cow to see how well the shipment will navigate.
Encore deployed a roster of big hitters for its first event. Boston sports legends such as Ty Law, Cedric Maxwell and Johnny Damon attended, as well as some of the state’s political leaders who made sports possible.
Massachusetts House Speaker Ron Mariano said he thought it would be the start of a very successful sports operation.
“To think that because we don’t have sports that other people don’t bet on is an unrealistic assumption. So, other people bet. Our entire electorate is Array. I’ve met some representatives, on occasion, to gamble,” he said with a laugh. reporters. ” But I think exposing it allows us to tax it and also remove some of the stigma of sportsArray. “
But, like any form of play, sports carry risks.
Marlene Warner, executive director of the Massachusetts Gaming and Health Council, notes that studies show that other people who once chose to bet illegally on sports have a greater propensity for gambling disorders than others.
“That considers us,” Warner said. When he legalizes it, will it still be true?I think studies will tell us as we go.
Warner also notes that sports betting attracts a younger population, although Massachusetts law only allows adults over the age of 21 to gamble.
“But for other people between 21 and 25, 26, they’re still in a high-risk category. Their brains haven’t fully matured,” he said with alcohol and actually raises a number of red flags for us.
For those who want to play, Warner’s first tip is to make sure you have the cash to spend before placing a bet, and that what you’re willing to lose is effective. It also warns against reinvesting profits in gambling.
“When it comes to sportsArray, I guess the other thing I’d say is you just need to make sure you know what you’re up to,” he said. “Make sure you know how the probabilities are structured, make sure you perceive. There are many complexities in sportsArray make sure you perceive what you are doing.
The component of everything: not so long ago, none of this would have been possible.
In 2018, the Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which banned sports in much of the country, and opened the door for individual states to introduce the practice. Massachusetts legalized sports last year.
Dave Forman is vice president of studies for the American Gaming Association, a lobby organization representing the gaming industry. He said the speed at which legalized sports have spread in recent years has been staggering.
“I think five years ago, if you had said there would be over 35 states that would legalize sports betting, other people wouldn’t have believed you,” he said. betting on Nevada so far, through 2022, Americans will have legally bet close to $100 billion on sports. “
That now includes other Massachusetts people like Claudia Gabriel of Lowell. She bet $50 on the Bruins to win the Stanley Cup and $50 on the Philadelphia Eagles to win the Super Bowl.
“It’s like a life experience,” he said. And that’s something that will go down in the history books and be part of Encore in Massachusetts. The first bet on sports betting here. “
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Born and raised in Texas, he interned at the San Antonio Express-News, NPR’s “All Things Considered” and Dallas Morning News before coming to Boston. He graduated from the University of Texas at Dallas, where he was editor of the student newspaper The Mercury and DJ of Radio UTD.
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