- Massachusetts lawmakers proposed a sports betting bill that would remove live betting and player prop bets in the Commonwealth.
- Bill S 302 also would ban sports betting ads during televised sporting events and increase the state’s sports betting tax rate from 20% to 51%.
- The committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies passed the bill unanimously 5-0, but it’s still a long way from passing.
BOSTON – Sportsbooks in Massachusetts would be without live betting and player prop markets if the latest sports betting bill passes. Bill S.302 proposes drastic changes to the landscape of legal Massachusetts sports betting and has already unanimously passed in the Senate’s chamber Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies.
State Senator John Keenan wants to limit sports betting addiction among young adults in the Commonwealth, and he’s doing so by proposing the removal of “addictive” markets like live betting and player props. Keenan’s Bill S 302 aims to amend Section 3 of Chapter 23N “by striking out, in line 150, the following words:- “in-play bets, proposition bets and straight bets”, and inserting in place thereof the following words:- “and straight bets; provided, however, that sports wagering shall include neither in-play bets nor proposition bets”.
Bill Also Seeks To Increase Mass. Tax Rate, Limit Ads
The Bettor Health Act wouldn’t just ban player props and live betting in Massachusetts. It also proposes an increased legal sports betting tax rate from 20% to 51%, as well as banning sports betting advertisements from airing during televised sporting events.
Bill S.302 would notably increase Massachusetts’ mobile sports betting tax rate to 51%, joining neighboring sports betting states like New York, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island that boast the same 51% figure.
With so many moving parts, this bill has a long way to go before passage. There hasn’t been any indication that state house leaders will support the bill, but it heads to the Senate Committee on Ways and Means nonetheless.
