• About Us / Contact
  • Responsible Gambling
This site contains commercial content
SportsHandle
  • US Sports Betting
    • Arizona
    • Arkansas
    • Colorado
    • Connecticut
    • Delaware
    • Illinois
    • Indiana
    • Iowa
    • Kansas
    • Louisiana
    • Maine
    • Maryland
    • Massachusetts
    • Michigan
    • Mississippi
    • New Jersey
    • New Mexico
    • New York
    • Ohio
    • Oregon
    • Pennsylvania
    • Tennessee
    • Virginia
    • West Virginia
    • Wyoming
  • Pending States
    • California
    • Florida
    • Georgia
    • Missouri
    • North Carolina
  • Canada
    • Ontario
    • British Columbia
    • Alberta
  • Sportsbook Apps
    • FanDuel
    • BetMGM
    • Caesars
    • PointsBet
    • BetRivers
  • Tools
    • Sportsbook Bonuses Explained
    • Sports Betting Revenue Tracker
    • Sports Betting Podcasts
    • Partnership Tracker
    • Expected Value
    • Sports Scores And Odds Apps
    • Sports Betting Twitter
    • Guide To ‘Risk-Free’ Bets
  • News
No Result
View All Result
SportsHandle
  • US Sports Betting
    • Arizona
    • Arkansas
    • Colorado
    • Connecticut
    • Delaware
    • Illinois
    • Indiana
    • Iowa
    • Kansas
    • Louisiana
    • Maine
    • Maryland
    • Massachusetts
    • Michigan
    • Mississippi
    • New Jersey
    • New Mexico
    • New York
    • Ohio
    • Oregon
    • Pennsylvania
    • Tennessee
    • Virginia
    • West Virginia
    • Wyoming
  • Pending States
    • California
    • Florida
    • Georgia
    • Missouri
    • North Carolina
  • Canada
    • Ontario
    • British Columbia
    • Alberta
  • Sportsbook Apps
    • FanDuel
    • BetMGM
    • Caesars
    • PointsBet
    • BetRivers
  • Tools
    • Sportsbook Bonuses Explained
    • Sports Betting Revenue Tracker
    • Sports Betting Podcasts
    • Partnership Tracker
    • Expected Value
    • Sports Scores And Odds Apps
    • Sports Betting Twitter
    • Guide To ‘Risk-Free’ Bets
  • News
No Result
View All Result
SportsHandle
No Result
View All Result

Once Again, Sports Betting Will Be Much Talked About Issue In Massachusetts

State senator running for lieutenant governor will continue to push for legal wagering

Jill R. Dorson by Jill R. Dorson
January 5, 2022
in Legislation
boston-skyline

Shutterstock

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Massachusetts state Sen. Eric Lesser, co-chairman of the legislature’s Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies, is now a candidate for lieutenant governor. And he intends to use the campaign trail to continue pushing for legalization of sports betting in the Bay State.

“My hope is that we can get that done long before the campaign,” Lesser told MassLive Tuesday, the same day he announced his candidacy. “Keep in mind the election is 10, 11 months from now.”

Lesser went on to call legal sports betting a prominent issue he will raise while campaigning.

Lesser’s committee has been exploring legal sports betting through hearings, meetings, and closed-door conversations for going on five years now. While Massachusetts — home to sports betting and DFS titan DraftKings — is now nearly surrounded by legal wagering states, politicians have been unable to get out of their own way and find a solution.

Many lawmakers and Gov. Charlie Baker are staunch supporters, but the nearly 20 sports betting-related bills that have been sitting in the hopper on Beacon Hill since last year are all over the map. There’s no consensus on the tax rate, whether to allow wagering on college sports,, and numerous other issues.

“This has absolutely been a top-tier issue,” Lesser said in a recent virtual meeting in December. “It’s been something many of us have been working on, on almost a daily basis. And there are very active conversations going on.”

House, Senate at odds

There were promises throughout 2021 about legalization, but after the House passed a budget bill that included legal sports betting, the issue languished in the Senate.

According to a discussion on WGBH, sports betting is a likely legislative priority this year, though the House and the Senate are “two different chambers with very different ideas” on myriad issues, statehouse reporter Mike Deehan said during a broadcast Wednesday.

“I think sports betting is definitely something that’s going to be coming up,” he said. “That’s something that the House really wants to do. The Senate seems to have no interest — they’re kind of dragging their heels on what their plan for that would be.

“You know, in all this time and all these hearings and process and it comes down to two chambers that might have radically different bills and different plans, and then they try to jam them together and come up with a compromise very late in the day, usually within days or hours of the end of their sessions. And that’s where things tend to fall apart — they put it off, and then the two chambers, both dominated by Democrats, just don’t see eye to eye and can’t make these compromises happen, increasingly.”

Which States Will Legalize Sports Betting In 2022?https://t.co/Q4k0XUQtEF “Massachusetts has a robust gaming industry and is home to one of the larger sports betting brands — there is no reason why any bill has not passed.” @sports_handle @bbussmann

— Global Market Advisors (@GloblMrktAdvisr) December 30, 2021

That kind of process has failed in numerous states across the country. In the nearly four years since the Supreme Court overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in May 2018, the states that have been able to legalize are those in which lawmakers brought agreed-upon bills to their peers after education, discussion, and negotiation took place, whether in Connecticut or Colorado or Washington state. In the states where lawmakers play politics on chamber floors — think Georgia or Kentucky or Maine — proposals languish and ultimately die.

Since PASPA was overturned, four of Massachusetts’ five border states have legalized, including New York. But one stakeholder told Sports Handle that outside pressure to legalize does not appear to move the needle in the Massachusetts Senate. It’s already clear that Massachusetts is losing revenue as bettors drive over the border to Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island to place bets by phone.

New York, which will be the biggest state by population in the U.S. to offer mobile sportsbooks, is aiming to launch operators ahead of the Feb. 13 Super Bowl.

ShareTweetShare
Jill R. Dorson

Jill R. Dorson

Jill has covered everything from steeplechase to the NFL and then some during a more than 30-year career in sports journalism. The highlight of her career was covering Oakland Raiders during the Charles Woodson/Jon Gruden era, including the infamous “Snow Bowl” and the Raiders’ 2003 trip to Super Bowl XXXVII. Her specialty these days is covering sports betting legislation across the country. You can reach Jill at jill@bettercollective.com

Related Posts

get a grip graphic
Industry

Get A Grip — The Week In Sports Betting: Massachusetts Gets Ready

January 27, 2023
exterior-long-view-encore-boston-building
Regulation

Font Size Rules For RG Messaging Nearly Create Major Problems In Massachusetts

January 27, 2023
Load More

Top Stories

patrick mahomes

Mahomes’ Ankle Speculation Twists Line Movement In Chiefs-Bengals Rematch

January 27, 2023
fanatics-grand-opening

Fanatics Sportsbook At FedEx Field Offers Unique Retail Option In Maryland

January 23, 2023
Shutterstock

Missouri Legislators Lament Exodus Of Bettors To Neighboring States

January 27, 2023
rob gronkowski adam vinatieri

Rob Gronkowski Goes Training Montage Route In Latest FanDuel Spot

January 17, 2023

State Sports Betting Guides

Ohio (U.S. state) flag waving against clear blue sky, close up, isolated with clipping path mask alpha channel transparency, perfect for film, news, composition

Ohio Sports Betting – Where To Play, Bonus Offers And Promo Codes

by Brian Pempus
January 25, 2023

Downtown Detroit at twilight (Shutterstock)

Michigan Sports Betting – Where To Play, Online Sportsbooks, And FAQ

by Brett Smiley
January 27, 2023

VA captial

Virginia Sports Betting – Where To Play, Online Sportsbooks And Bonus Offers

by Brett Smiley
January 17, 2023

nj flag

New Jersey Sports Betting — Where To Play, Online Sportsbooks, And FAQ

by Brett Smiley
October 20, 2022

pa online sportsbooks

Pennsylvania Sports Betting – Where To Play, Online Sportsbooks And Bonuses

by Brett Smiley
October 6, 2022

Canada Sports Betting Guides

Canada Sports Betting – Best Sportsbook Apps & Bonus Offers

British Columbia Sports Betting – Legal Update, Available Sportsbooks, and FAQ

Ontario Sports Betting – Legal Status And Where To Play

gambling therapy
ncpg
igaming ontario
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL). Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (MI/NJ/OH/PA/WV), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 1-888-532-3500 (VA) or call/text TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN).
19+. Please play responsibly. Terms and conditions apply. 
Individuals must be 19 years of age or older to participate in igaming in Ontario. Gambling can be addictive, please play responsibly. If you, or someone you know, has a gambling problem in Ontario and wants help, please visit ConnexOntario or call their helpline at 1-866-531-2600. Operators on this website operate pursuant to an Operating Agreement with iGaming Ontario.

Search Sports Handle

No Result
View All Result
  • About Us / Contact
  • Responsible Gambling

No Result
View All Result
  • US Sports Betting
    • Arizona
    • Arkansas
    • Colorado
    • Connecticut
    • Delaware
    • Illinois
    • Indiana
    • Iowa
    • Kansas
    • Louisiana
    • Maine
    • Maryland
    • Massachusetts
    • Michigan
    • Mississippi
    • New Jersey
    • New Mexico
    • New York
    • Ohio
    • Oregon
    • Pennsylvania
    • Tennessee
    • Virginia
    • West Virginia
    • Wyoming
  • Pending States
    • California
    • Florida
    • Georgia
    • Missouri
    • North Carolina
  • Canada
    • Ontario
    • British Columbia
    • Alberta
  • Sportsbook Apps
    • FanDuel
    • BetMGM
    • Caesars
    • PointsBet
    • BetRivers
  • Tools
    • Sportsbook Bonuses Explained
    • Sports Betting Revenue Tracker
    • Sports Betting Podcasts
    • Partnership Tracker
    • Expected Value
    • Sports Scores And Odds Apps
    • Sports Betting Twitter
    • Guide To ‘Risk-Free’ Bets
  • News

loading

Please wait while you are redirected to the right page...

Please share your location to continue.

Check our help guide for more info.

share your location