Massachusetts sports betting still no sure bet despite progress

The Massachusetts House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to pass a bill legalizing sports betting on August 22. However, a potential showdown in the Senate over the question of college sports betting represents a hurdle that could arise as the legislative process continues. The House voted 156-3 on H 3993, which establishes a framework for full mobile and retail sports betting in Massachusetts, including wagering on college sports games but not individual player props. The next step is for the Senate to take up the bill. The timeline for that is unclear, with one lawmaker indicating it could be in as little as a few weeks, or potentially not until the end of the year. The good news is that it appears to be a question of ‘when’ not ‘if’ – as opposed to last year, when the House passed a similar bill before watching it die in the Senate. However, the college sports question is shaping up as a potentially significant point of contention that could become the impetus for the Senate to pass its own bill, which would necessitate the formation of a joint committee to hammer out a compromise. That’s where the matter complicates, as proponents in the House have stressed the importance of college sports, which by some estimates could make up as much as 40% of the market. “I find myself having a tough time trying to justify going through all of this to not include probably the main driver of betting in the commonwealth,” House Speaker Ronald Mariano said in an interview with Bloomberg Baystate Radio, adding that a bill without college sports betting would likely be a deal-breaker. As it stands now, prospective operators would need to pay a $100,000 application fee, and a $5m upfront license fee if approved. The biggest wrinkle in the final version of the House bill was an amendment allowing for untethered operators, meaning an operator would not need to partner with one of the state’s casinos or racetracks to gain licensure. Online bets would be taxed at 15%, while in-person wagers would be subject to a 12.5% tax. Under that structure, proponents of the House bill believe sports betting could generate up to $60m in annual tax revenue if signed into law as currently constructed.