Massachusetts To Hear Sports Betting Bills This Week

The Massachusetts Legislature will be holding a hearing for 19 of its sports betting bills to be heard on Thursday.
Annual revenue from a sports gaming market in the Bay State is estimated to be around $35 million.
The Massachusetts Legislature adjourns for the year on December 31.

BOSTON – The Massachusetts Legislature is moving forward with sports betting legislation, as they have scheduled a virtual hearing for a number of bills on the subject to be heard on Thursday. The Commonwealth has put regulated sports gaming on the back burner for much of the 2021 session, even going as far as excluding it as a revenue source on their 2022 FY budget proposal.

However, the session goes through December 31 and lawmakers have finally carved out a time for many of their regulated sports wagering bills to be considered. There are over two dozen pieces of legislation that mention gambling on sporting events in some regard that have been introduced to the Massachusetts Legislature.

What To Expect On Thursday

The Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies is where most of the Massachusetts sports betting legislation has been sitting for months. They will be the committee that will be holding the hearing this week. Not only will various measures on sports wagering be heard but the testimony of the pros and cons of regulating such a market will be discussed.

In total, 19 bills will be put on the floor for the public virtual hearing that begins at 10 a.m. EST and can be streamed through the Massachusetts Legislature website. Governor Charlie Baker has been rallying for a sports betting industry to open in the Bay State. He helped spearhead a measure on it with House Bill 70.

This is the first bill listed on the agenda for the upcoming meeting.

Sports gaming is widely popular in Massachusetts. The Commonwealth is saturated with both great teams and fans that wager on them daily. Every day the Bay State goes without a regulated market for its residents to use is money lost for the economy. Lawmakers know that it’s happening but the profits are not staying in Massachusetts and instead going to outside sources.

What Lawmakers Want In A Sports Betting Industry For MA

Most, if not all bills for sports betting in Massachusetts that will be heard on Thursday are asking for both retail and mobile sportsbooks. In many states nationwide, mobile sports wagers make up at least 90% of their markets.

Massachusetts projects revenue profits to be at least $35 million every year.

There are still over six months left in the session to pin down a piece of favorable legislation and have it pass. Operators like DraftKings and WynnBET are closely monitoring the progress of this situation as they’d love to enter an industry in Massachusetts.

Previous years have proved to be fruitless when it’s come time to passing sports gaming legislation but 2021 may be the year that gets dealt a better hand by lawmakers.

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Christina Monroe

Christina has been writing for as long as she can remember and does dedicated research on the newly regulated sports betting market. She comes from a family of sports lovers that engage in friendly bets from time to time. During the winter months, you can find Christina baking cookies and beating the entire staff at Mario Kart…the N64 version of course.