Sports Gambling Faces Major Regulation If Massachusetts Senate Bill Passes

A Massachusetts State Senate bill proposes raising taxes on sports gambling and outlawing in-play and proposition bets, among other things.

The bill was presented by state Sen. John F. Keenan, D-Norfolk and Plymouth.

If passed into law, the bill would ban in-play bets and proposition bets.

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The bill also proposes eradicating sports-betting advertising during televised sporting events and adding agents and promoters to the list of those prohibited from wagering on a sporting event.

In addition, the bill would limit the amount allowed to be bet each day "unless gambling entities conduct affordability checks for bettors" and determine they can exceed the limits based on the amounts they have in a bank, according to language in the legislation.

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The bill would also ban "employees of sports wagering entities from receiving any compensation based on how much said employees induce bettors to gamble," as well as raising the "taxation rate on online sports wagering operators from 20% to 51%."

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Additionally, the proposed law would double the amount that each sports wagering operator must contribute annually to the Public Health Trust Fund and add to the "gaming commission research agenda an assessment of links between problem gambling and suicides."

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If passed, the bill would also require sports wagering operators to "release anonymized data on sports bettors to an experienced nonprofit research entity," according to the legislation, and also "deems certain types of sports-wagering advertising as deceptive under the consumer protection statute."

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