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precipitate relapse in recovered gamblers, and counteract the effectiveness of messages advocating limited, lower-risk involvement.
Volberg noted that only four states have funded any kind of research about sports betting, while 12 have provided funding for problem-gambling services. This contrasts with Massachusetts, where 9% of the tax revenue raised from sports betting will go into the Public Health Trust Fund that supports research and services to mitigate gambling- related harms.
“A great deal of work has already been done by our
team in anticipation of sports wagering becoming legal in Massachusetts,” Gaming Commission Executive Director Karen Wells said recently. “This includes identifying over 200 potential regulations, adopting a framework to utilize industry-recognized technical standards, establishing an infrastructure to investigate and license applicants, initiat- ing the hiring of a chief of Sports Wagering, and scheduling public meetings. Now that we have a law that defines our responsibilities as regulator, we will work with our stake-
pointed out that, with every state in the Northeast hav- ing followed suit, Massachusetts was losing money to its neighbors.
“Legalizing sports wagering in Massachusetts will allow us to finally compete with neighboring states and will bring in new revenue and immense economic benefits,” state Sen. John Velis said in August.
The bill allows for 15 online licenses for companies like DraftKings and FanDuel, in addition to five retail licenses for the three casinos and two racetracks in Massachusetts. The bill also creates a commission to study additional li- censes for smaller businesses, such as bars and restaurants.
The bill includes out-of-state collegiate betting but does not allow bets on Massachusetts college teams unless they are in the playoffs. The bill also includes a 20% tax on mo- bile bets and a 15% tax on retail bets, which would be paid by the operating company.
“Sports betting is, by far, the number-one question I get asked on a daily basis, and it has been for years now,” said Chris Kelley, president and chief operating officer of MGM Springfield, which built two sports viewing lounges last year partly in anticipation of legal sports betting. “The entire team is looking forward to welcoming the first bet. When the time comes, we’ll be ready.”
As the leader of the only casino in Western Mass., Kelley sees potential benefits not just for his facility, but for the region itself.
“Massachusetts residents are already driving across the border to Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and New York to place bets. Keeping the millions of tax dollars generated annually by sports wagering in the Common- wealth is a big deal,” he told BusinessWest. In addition,
Please see Betting, page 7
“Only a few U.S. states have any funding in their legislation to conduct research, so we know surprisingly little about the social and economic impacts of betting in the United States as a whole.”
RACHELVOLBERG
holders to swiftly stand up this new industry with a focus on integrity, player safety, and consumer protection.”
They’ll take a hard look at SEIGMA’s report in crafting that framework and its many elements, Gaming Commis- sion Chair Cathy Judd-Stein said,
“We are in a unique position in Massachusetts to be able to monitor the impacts of sports betting as it becomes legal and make adjustments to its provision so as to maximize the benefits and minimize the harms.”
Devil’s in the Details
With the legislation now law, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) will work out the details that will make legal sports betting a reality. It has already come up with a list of about 225 regulations that will need to be drafted.
noting that “this report will aid the MGC as we begin to regulate a sports-wagering industry in the Commonwealth with an uncompromising focus on integrity and player safety.”
State lawmakers — who overwhelmingly supported the bill to bring sports gambling out into the open — and Gov. Charlie Baker, who signed it into law shortly after, are betting that the economic benefits outweigh the potential social risks. The law is the culmination of momentum that had been building since sports betting was legalized by
a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2018. Area legislators