Massachusetts governor unveils sports betting law
The Governor’s proposal would legaise and tax sports betting at Massachusetts casinos.
US.- Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker introduced a new proposal on Thursday that aims to legalise and tax bets on professional sports both online and at local casinos. The law would allow other entities to be licensed to offer the modality as well.
Baker detailed that he would file legislation to allow the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) to license the three casino operators in the state to offer on-site and online sports betting. This legislation would also pave the way for other operators, such as daily fantasy sports (DFS) entities to be licensed for sports betting.
“Our legislation puts forth a series of commonsense proposals to ensure potential licensees are thoroughly vetted and safeguards are in place to protect against problem gambling and illegal activity,” said Baker in a statement.
The legislative piece would set a 10% tax on sports betting inside casinos, while online bets would be taxed at 12.5%; DFS operators are included in this category. The MGC would oversee sports betting operations both online and at casinos.
Official estimations said that taxes would raise US$35 million in Massachusetts’ next fiscal year, with the money from operations going towards local cities and towns. Bets on collegiate sports or amateur events would be prohibited.
Director of Global Public Affairs for DraftKinds, James Chisolm, said that the governor’s plan is thoughtful and that he’s looking forward to working with him and lawmakers to approve a bill in the next months.
“Legal, regulated mobile sports betting provides the best mechanism to not only protect consumers, but to eliminate illegal offshore gambling, ensure game integrity, generate new revenue for the Commonwealth and fuel the growth of Massachusetts’ sports-tech sector,” Chisholm said in a statement.
