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Massachusetts Sports Betting Bill Falters, But Lives to Fight Another Day
By Jeff Osienya Aug 03, 2020 LegalityLegal sports betting in Massachusetts has been struck down by the Senate before getting to the finish line. Players in the state will have to continue traveling out of state to bet on sports.Last week, the House of Representatives in Massachusetts overwhelmingly voted to greenlight a package aimed for economic development under HB 4879. A sports betting provision had also thrown in in this package and the House voted in favor of the bill by 156-2 after debating nearly 500 different proposed amendments.
This bill was first fronted by the Massachusetts House Committee on Ways and Means, and it comprised the Massachusetts Sports Wagering Act which officially outlined measures that would bring regulated retail, online, and mobile sports betting in The Bay State.
A Quick Breakdown of The Massachusetts Sports Wagering Act
According to this bill, the Bay State would set up three separate licensing classes for regulated sports betting. A Class 1 license would be aimed at retail online and mobile sports betting whereas the Class 2 license would be for brick-and-mortar betting in racetrack facilities in the state. Finally, the Class 3 license would be for operators who are interested in offering betting services via an approved dedicated mobile application or exclusively through an online platform.
A $250K licensing fee that’s renewable after five years was set up per the act and a $100K renewable fee would be levied for five more years. Additionally, this bill also had a provision that would require holders of licenses to part with a handle fee of 1% for wagers taken on in-state sporting events, payable to sports venues in the state. This fee would later be lowered to 0.25% after a period that was yet to be confirmed. As for the taxation, originally, the bill imposed a 15% tax rate on the gross sports wagering receipts but was later doubled to 30% in a follow-up amendment.
For oversight, a regulatory body titled the Massachusetts Gaming Commission would be established and given the responsibility to issue licenses to sports betting operators who make an application.
Another significant amendment of the act that was backed up by a landslide 157-1 vote was a measure to make the sale of online lottery tickets legal, and permit the Lottery Commission to introduce promotional activities like offering pre-paid coupons to encourage locals to buy the lotto tickets. This amendment also indicated that only up to 15% of the revenue raked in from ticket sales would be used for administration and operational costs of running this online lottery.
Massachusetts players would also be given a chance to set expenditure and deposit limits for online lottery games, and even self-exclude if they needed to. Moreover, in line with problem gambling, there were two gambling helplines outlined in this bill.
Dead in the Water, But There’s Still Hope
By the time the bill was passed over to the Senate, it had gone through a couple of amendments and okayed by a 156-4 vote and was renumbered to HB 4887. However, when in the Senate, it was replaced with an amendment dubbed SB 2842 which rescinded provisions intended for sports betting as well as the online sale of lottery tickets.
According to reports from sources close to the matter, the Senate struck down the sports betting and lottery measures because of a range of reasons, including the fact that the legislators wanted to involve more parties in the matter. Other than that, the bill still needed a few tweaks. For instance, based on the bill, it would be the first time in the USA that the leagues and operators would be sharing revenue.
Additionally, parts of this bill were rather restrictive given that the original draft only allowed three casino operators and FanDuel Sportsbook and Nasdaq-listed DraftKings Sportsbook to apply for licenses. Still, this part of the bill was later amended to include two more licensees who were required to have had a presence in two USA states for at least 1 year.
Well, until things are ironed out by the legislators – which could take a few more months at least, sports bettors in The Bay State will have to travel out of state to Rhode Island and New Hampshire if they want to bet on sports legally. And by the way, since Rhode Island recently annulled the in-person registration requirement, it will be easier for anyone going to Rhode Island to place wagers online in the coming months.
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