The House and Senate companion bills, introduced on February 27, were reviewed by the Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure during a public hearing.

As expected, the hearing brought familiar arguments on both sides, echoing those raised in other states debating similar legislation.

The online casino proposal includes 10 licenses, six of which are tied to the state’s three retail casinos, and four untethered licenses. The bills call for a 20% tax rate plus several responsible gambling and consumer safeguard provisions.

The committee did not vote on the matter. Still, the online casino bills have time as the Massachusetts legislative session does not adjourn until November 19.

Advocates for iGaming Highlight Economic and Consumer Benefits

Online casino proponents who testified included:

• David Prestwood from DraftKings
• James Hartmann from FanDuel
• John Pappas, representing the iGaming Development and Economic Association (iDEA)
• Zach Khan for the Sports Betting Alliance

Each advocate reiterated common pro-iGaming points. Those included the benefits of tax revenue and the curbing of illegal gambling, which continues to grow in the US. They highlighted that online gambling is already happening in the state, just illegally.

Prestwood estimated that the state could generate $230–$275 million in annual tax revenue based on a 20% tax rate. He also emphasized the many responsible gambling and consumer protection tools available at legal platforms that are lacking in offshore casinos.

Hartmann echoed Prestwood’s comments on consumer protection tools. He also gave an estimate that the annual illegal wagering in Massachusetts is around $7 billion.

Meanwhile, Khan addressed concerns of retail casino revenue cannibalization. He stated that the launch of online casinos adds 2% to the growth of land-based casinos. Additionally, iGaming creates more jobs.

Furthermore, Pappas argued that the state can even increase the number of licenses, citing Michigan’s 15 online casinos.

The Usual Opponents: Unions and Advocacy Groups

As expected, some didn’t share the positive sentiment regarding online casinos.

Jaimie McNeil of the Local 26 Hospitality Workers’ Union stated that legalizing iGaming would result in the loss of 862 casino gaming jobs and 2,786 support jobs. He emphasized that Local 26, which represents 12,000 hospitality workers, will oppose iGaming.

McNeil cited Atlantic City, where, between 2019 and 2024, iGaming revenue grew by 395%, while casino employment dropped by 17%, resulting in approximately 5,000 job losses.

Meanwhile, Mark Stewart, representing the National Association Against iGaming, projected a 15-30% revenue drop for land-based casinos with the legalization of iGaming.

Interestingly, representatives of the three Massachusetts casinos were not present. However, MGM (MGM Springfield) and PENN (Plainridge Park) would likely support online casinos, given that they operate online brands.

Wynn Resorts (Encore Boston Harbor) is likely to oppose, given that it abandoned its WynnBet online platform.

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The Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure has scheduled discussions over House Bill 332 and Senate Bill 235 on June 23. Both bills aim to establish and regulate online casinos in the Bay State.

Sen. Paul Feeney and Rep. Daniel Cahill introduced the bills in February, aiming to bring Massachusetts in line with neighboring states that already have legal online casinos.

Key Provisions of Online Casino Bills

As companion bills, House Bill 332 and Senate Bill 235 have nearly identical language.

Both propose the creation of a new Chapter 23O in the General Laws, titled “Massachusetts Internet Gaming Act.” The chapter defines the Massachusetts Gaming Commission as the regulator and its responsibilities.

Key licensing provisions include:

• Ten total licenses, which are divided into two categories. Category One gives the state’s three retail casinos two licenses. Category Two allows for four untethered licenses for outside operators.
• License Terms: Licenses will be valid for five years. The initial cost and annual renewals are $5 million. A one-year $1 million “fast-start” provisional license will be available while an application is pending.
• Taxation of 20% on online gaming revenue. Promo-credit deductions will be gradually capped after 2028.

The proposed legislations also define responsible gaming (RG) and consumer safeguard requirements:

• Statewide self-exclusion option and a mandatory 1-800-GAMBLER banner on every platform entry.
• Mandatory RG staff training and annual RG plan.
• Strict Know Your Customer (KYC), data security, and anti-money laundering (AML) requirements.
• Ban on “deceptive, false, misleading, or untrue” advertising or advertising to individuals under 21.

The bills also permit live dealer studios to be located outside of Massachusetts. That is an important provision as it will allow operators to save money by streaming from existing studios.

Additionally, they permit the Gaming Commission to enter into “internet gaming reciprocal agreements” with other jurisdictions.

That will pave the way for Massachusetts to eventually enter the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement. The agreement enables poker players from several states to compete against one another online. Part of the agreement are New Jersey, Nevada, Delaware, West Virginia, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, which joined in April.

Tax Revenue Creation Versus Resident Protection

Proponents of online casinos argue that neighboring Connecticut and Rhode Island already have online casinos, meaning Massachusetts residents are already engaging in online gambling but contributing tax revenue elsewhere.

Some stakeholders also argue that regulated iGaming will generate tax revenue, high-paying tech jobs, and new investments for the state.

As with similar efforts in other states, the retail casino sector and labor unions are opposed to online casinos, fearing that they will cannibalize their business.

Another possible prominent opponent could be Jordan Maynard, the chair of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. Maynard recently called the US gambling industry a “highway without speed limits,” pointing to a lack of adequate and consistent regulatory oversight at a national level.

Maynard says that as a regulator, his job is to protect the residents and visitors of Massachusetts, rather than industry growth and profits.
Given his stance on stricter gambling advertising and national responsible gaming efforts, it may take some convincing to get him on board.

iGaming in Massachusetts? Don’t Bet on 2025

Massachusetts has taken a slow approach to gambling expansion. The state took nearly three years to legalize retail casinos and an additional four years to legalize sports betting.

Meanwhile, online lottery took even longer. Lawmakers made their first attempt in 2016, and after multiple failures, Massachusetts legalized online lottery in July 2024, with a target launch date of fall 2025. However, a few months later, lottery officials revealed a delay in funding, pushing the target launch for spring 2026.

With that in mind, online casinos are likely to remain only a topic of discussion in 2025.

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The hearing was announced on 17 April and held as planned, lasting for nearly two hours. 

Fanatics Going Through the Massachusetts Suitability Process

The regulator decided that Fanatics Betting and Gaming is suitable to progress to a full license, joining the six other licensed operators in the state. 

Fanatics is currently operating in the state under a one-year category 3 sports betting license. All seven operators are in a similar position and will have to undergo a suitability process to receive a full five-year sports betting license.

During the hearing, Fanatics founder and CEO Michael Rubin said, “Thank you for the time and energy all of you are putting into this throughout the review. We appreciate the partnership, we care about you a lot, and you’re an incredibly important state to us.”

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission Investigations and Enforcement Bureau’s (IEB) counsel, Kathleen Kramer, said the bureau’s ultimate recommendation was to award durable suitability to Fanatics for a full license.

Kramer said that the IEB’s investigation has concluded that the applicant and each qualifier has established their qualifications for durable suitability. “The IEB recommends the commission find the applicant and all of the qualifiers suitable, subject to conditions,” Kramer added.

The conditions include, but are not limited to, updating or improving MGC’s understanding of Fanatics’ platform’s cybersecurity policy, and continuing to update IEB on the status of its gaming compliance committee.

Kramer noted that the suitability process is ongoing and that IEB will continue to monitor the situation. 

Other Operators All Must Go Through the Same

DraftKings was the first operator to undergo the MGC’s process. This happened in December during a nearly five-hour meeting. 

All other operators working under temporary licenses will have to undergo the same process. In addition to DraftKings and Fanatics, other candidates currently operational in the state are Bally Bet, BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, ESPN BET, and FanDuel.

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Data released last week by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission showed taxable betting revenue reached $52.1 million, a 12.8% year-over-year increase. However, this was also 20.6% behind February and marked the lowest revenue return for any month since October 2024’s figure of $48.3 million.

Online betting accounted for a significant portion of that total at $51.9 million, while the remaining $265,536 came from the state’s three retail betting locations.

Impact of March Madness Favorites on Massachusetts Revenue

Despite that dip, player spending was up significantly. The $772.5 million handle bested March 2024 by 20.3% and outperformed last month by 23%.

It was also the third-highest monthly total since legal betting launched in the Bay State in January 2023. The state record for player spending is $788.3 million, set in December 2024.

This comes after the favorites dominated March Madness, one of the most bet-on sporting events annually. In the men’s tournament, for instance, all four No. 1 seeds advanced to the Final Four for the first time since 2008 and only the second time ever.

DraftKings collected $28.4 million from a $375.1 million handle (7.57% hold) last month. This topped all online operators in Massachusetts and represented a significant increase over March 2024, when DraftKings generated $22.6 million from $323.1 million in wagers.

With $13.8 million in revenue from a $208.3 million handle, FanDuel was DraftKings’ closest competitor, resulting in a 6.62% hold. 

Next was BetMGM, which took in $4.1 million of revenue from $72.1 million in wagers for a 5.69% hold.

Rounding out the list were Fanatics ($2.1 million revenue, $48.3 million handle), Caesars ($1.7 million, $26.2 million), ESPN Bet ($1.5 million, $26.5 million), and Bally Bet ($179,586, $5.1 million).

As for retail betting, Encore Boston Harbor led the way with $197,219 in revenue from $5.6 million in bets, equaling a 3.49% hold. Plainridge Park generated $68,316 off a $3.3 million handle for a 2.05% hold. MGM Springfield, meanwhile, did not report any revenue figures from its $1.6 million handle.

Regulatory Scrutiny Intensifies Around Prediction Markets

Massachusetts is one of several states probing prediction market Robinhood, which partnered with Kalshi earlier this year to offer sports-event contracts.

On March 20, Massachusetts Secretary of State Bill Galvin issued a subpoena over the company’s decision to launch a prediction-style hub, similar to sports betting, for the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments.  

In an interview with Reuters, Galvin said he was concerned that Robinhood was “linking a gambling event on a popular sports event that’s especially popular to young people to a brokerage account.”

He added: “This is just another gimmick from a company that’s very good at gimmicks to lure investors away from sound investing.”

Prediction markets allow customers in all 50 states to buy and sell contracts on specific outcomes of real-world events such as the Super Bowl. This has ignited concerns from regulators, who liken sites such as Robinhood to sports betting.

Six states—Illinois, Maryland, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, and Ohio—have filed cease-and-desist orders against them, and Kalshi recently scored legal victories over New Jersey and Nevada regulators. 

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If approved, the bill would enable the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to hand out Category 1 sport betting licences to MGM Springfield (pictured) and Encore Boston Harbor, which opens this year, while Plainridge Park would be eligible for a Category 2 licence, reports CBS Boston.

In a statement, Baker said the plan represents “an opportunity for Massachusetts to invest in local aid while remaining competitive with many other states [that are] pursuing similar regulations.

“Our legislation puts forth a series of common-sense proposals to ensure potential licensees are thoroughly vetted and safeguards are in place to protect against problem gambling and illegal activity,” he said.

The governor’s office estimates the move would add $35m to state coffers in 2020, boosted by an application fee of $100,000 plus further fees of “at least $500,000” that need to be renewed every five years. Licensees would pay tax at 10 per cent, while online betting would be taxed at 12.5 per cent.

The governor’s proposals are similar to those put forward in one of three bills earlier this week, specifically SB903, proposed by senator Brendan Crighton. The other bills came from Massachusetts senators Bruce Tarr and James Welch.

Massachusetts could become a hive of sports betting activity should the proposals make it into law. MGM Resorts currently operates the state’s sole casino in Springfield and there is the Massachusetts State Lottery to consider. Also in the frame is Boston-based daily fantasy sports operator DraftKings.

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The proposal, SD 1657, titled “An Act addressing economic, health, and social harms caused by sports betting,” outlines stringent measures that could pose significant challenges to the MA sports betting industry.

Key Proposals of the Bill:

• Banning in-play and proposition bets
• Prohibiting advertisements during live sporting events
• Increasing the online sports betting tax rate from 20% to 51%
• Implementing affordability checks for players wagering over $1,000 daily or $10,000 monthly. Players exceeding these thresholds would undergo affordability reviews, with monthly wagering capped at 15% of their bank account balance.
• Restricting compensation structures by barring operators, directors, officers, owners, employees, affiliates, and subcontractors from receiving compensation tied to a percentage of wagers or deposits.

Additionally, the bill seeks to amend Section 15 of the Act, raising the annual licensing fee for online betting operators to $2 million. All revenue collected from this increase would go directly to the Public Health Trust Fund.

The legislation also proposes reclassifying promotions like same-game parlays, bonuses, odds boosts, reload bonuses, and risk-free promotions as “unfair and deceptive practices.”

Massachusetts: A Stringent Regulatory Environment

Massachusetts already enforces some of the strictest regulations in the U.S. sports betting market. Current rules prohibit betting on in-state collegiate sports, forbid credit card deposits, and disallow sportsbooks from deducting promotional credits from taxable income.

Despite these restrictions, sports wagering in the Bay State has shown robust growth. According to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, tax receipts from sports betting reached a record $16.1 million in November 2024, marking a 65.31% year-over-year increase from $9.7 million. Notably, online operators contributed 99.2% of the total, amounting to $15.9 million.

Revisiting the Push for a 51% Tax Rate

Senator Keenan’s latest effort follows a similar attempt in May 2024, when he made the news filing Amendment 828 to raise the state’s sports betting tax rate to 51%. The amendment was ultimately dismissed during a Senate debate.

Senator Keenan has been vocal about his opposition to online wagering, and the newly proposed tax rate would place Massachusetts among the states with the highest tax rates in the country. Currently, New York, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island also enforce a 51% tax rate on sports betting. However, exceptions in New Hampshire’s legislation result in a lower effective tax rate for its sole online operator, DraftKings.

While the previous amendment emphasized revenue generation for the state, this new proposal highlights broader concerns, including the economic, social, and health impacts of sports betting.

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The bills, HD 4084 and SD 2240, present a framework to regulate iGaming and propose that the Commonwealth establish an Internet Gaming Fund to collect and distribute funds from MA’s online casino proceeds.

What could MA online casino look like? 

Representative Daniel Cahill and Senator Paul R. Feeney introduced the proposed Massachusetts iGaming legislation, which offers a dual licensing system: Category 1 licenses tied to existing casino operators and Category 2 licenses for independent entities.

The bills allow for six Category 1 licenses. Each existing land-based casino operator will be permitted to partner with two online platforms. In addition, there will be four untethered Category 2 licenses. 

Under the proposed rules, each operator would be required to pay a $5 million licensing fee for a five-year term, and gross revenue generated from MA online casino would be subject to a 20% tax rate. This is broadly in line with other states that have legalized iGaming. 

As aforementioned, the tax revenue generated would go to the Internet Gaming Fund, which would then distribute proceeds as follows:

• 45% to the General Fund;
• 27.5% to the Gaming Local Aid Fund;
• 17.5% to the Workforce Investment Trust Fund;
• 9% to the Public Health Trust Fund;
• 1% to the Youth Development and Achievement Fund.

No revenue projections for casino operations are available, although the Massachusetts Gaming Commission is studying the potential impact of expanded gambling legalization.  

One notable provision is the authorization of a second brand exclusively for online poker. Per Section 6(b)(1) of SD 2240: “Each internet gaming platform shall be offered under a single distinct brand, except that each internet gaming platform may use a second distinct brand to offer poker.” 

The legislation also includes mechanisms to encourage interstate collaboration. Section 24 of SD 2240 permits the MGC to establish “internet gaming reciprocal agreements” with other jurisdictions, enabling Massachusetts to join multi-state player pools for games like online poker.

It could pave the way for Massachusetts to join the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement, which already exists to increase player liquidity in online poker. Nevada, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, and West Virginia are the states currently signed up. Pennsylvania is expected to join the agreement shortly. 

Massachusetts Lawmakers Busy with Gambling

The Bay State joins Maryland, New York, Wyoming, Indiana, and New Jersey as states with online casino adjacent legislature filed. 

In addition to online casino legislation, Sen. John Keenan has filed SD 1657, calling for vast changes to sports betting legislation. This legislation would include a blanket ban on in-play wagering and prop-style bets and mandatory affordability checks for anyone wagering over $1,000 a week. Keenan also proposes a tax hike on online sports betting to 51%, matching that of states such as New York and Rhode Island. He proposed a similar amendment in 2024, which the Senate quickly dismissed. 

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As well as confirming its support for a study into casino-related crime in Massachusetts, the body has also laid out its plan to provide grants to support law enforcement in preventing instances of human trafficking in regions that house casinos across the state. 

“These initiatives underscore the MGC’s unwavering dedication to prioritising the safety and wellbeing of individuals within our communities by prosecuting human trafficking and protecting vulnerable populations,” said Interim MGC Chair Jordan Maynard. 

“These grants represent a significant investment in our collective efforts to combat human trafficking by providing agencies with the necessary information and resources.”

The MGC is awarding grants through the Community Mitigation Fund allowing law enforcement agencies statewide to expand their teams. The expansion will allow the agencies to take on a higher volume of cases while being provided with more resources.The MGC is allocating the grants to the Attorney General’s Office and the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.

The commission is also distributing $160,000 to the Safe Exit Initiative, which will conduct the study of casino-related crime in the state.

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The range of breaches, identified following a multi-year investigation, affected over 2,000 employees, and concerned wage and hour infringements.

In October 2018, the AG’s office noted that its Fair Labor Division began receiving complaints from employees of the gaming venue regarding a number of violations. 

These included managers illegally participating in wait staff tip-pooling, underpaying service-rate employees for overtime hours, and the company requiring security guards to work through meal breaks without compensation. 

“MGM Springfield’s failure to provide its employees, especially service workers earning an hourly wage and relying on tips, with their full wages and benefits made it more difficult for these employees to take care of themselves and their families,” said AG Andrea Campbell. “My office will continue to hold accountable those who violate our wage and hour laws.” 

Following an inquiry, it is noted that the full range of wage and hour violations by MGM Springfield includes failures to pay minimum wage to tipped employees, as well as overtime wages.

In addition, unlawful tip retention by management was discovered, alongside failures to make timely payments of wages and to provide paid earned sick time.

The affected employees, which number 2,036, were mostly service employees earning hourly wages. This comprises table game dealers, banquet servers, bartenders, ushers, kitchen staff, casino floor and hotel staff, warehouse personnel, cleaners, and security guards. 

In addition to the financial settlement, MGM will implement a compliance program, which must be undertaken by an independent reviewer and be approved by the AGO. 

The program will include regular training of relevant staff on wage and hour compliance, and two annual wage and hour audits to be conducted by a third party. The third party auditor will also submit audit findings to AGO for review. 

In May, MGM Springfield was handed a $45,000 fine by the Investigations and Enforcement Bureau of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission for underage gambling violations.

According to MassLive, between June 2022 and December 2022, multiple incidents occurred at the facility where people under the age of 21 years old had gaming floor access.

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Data related to the responsible gaming initiative GameSense has also been released by the commission, which includes an increase in service usage.

For September, the MGC declared that the state’s three commercial casinos – Plainridge Park Casino, MGM Springfield and Encore Boston Harbor – generated $90.39m in GGR, down from $94m reported during the same period last year.

Table GGR for the month came in at $27.48m, which is down on September 2022’s $32.8m, while slots GGR stood at $62.9m, a slight increase on the previous year’s $61.5m.

Per casino, Encore Boston Harbor led the way with $59.8m GGR, but this figure had dropped in comparison to 2022’s $61.6m.

MGM Springfield reported a GGR of $17.4m, which was also down on the previous year’s $20.6m, while Plainridge Park Casino declared a GGR (slots only) for the month of $13.1m, up in comparison to 2022’s $12.2m.

From all commercial casino operations in the state, $25.7m was collected by the state in taxes – Encore Boston Harbor: $14.9m, MGM Springfield: $4.4m, Plainridge Park Casino: $6.4m.

The commission added that $49.81m was produced in taxable sports wagering revenue across eight online sports wagering licensees and the three land-based licensees, with $9.9m collected in taxes. Sports betting didn’t launch in Massachusetts until early 2023.

GameSense responsible gaming tools usage increases

As previously mentioned, the MGC also released data about the state’s responsible gambling initiative GameSense, revealing an increase in the service’s usage.

GameSense was created by the British Columbia Lottery Corporation in 2009. Helping the public gamble responsibly, GameSense information centres are present in all casinos in Massachusetts, while GameSense advisors are also available.

Highlighting the work done in FY23, the MGC noted that educational interactions about responsible gambling were up 42 per cent YoY to 80,371 (2022: 57,678), while voluntary self-exclusions rose by 12 per cent to 490 (2022: 436).

VSEs conducted overnight grew by 72 per cent YoY to 62 (2022: 36), the number conducted remotely increased by 63 per cent to 156 (2022: 96), while the number of reinstatements was up 47 per cent to 232 (2022: 158).

GameSenseMA.com conducted over 580 LiveChat sessions, offering help on gambling issues, including initiating the reinstatement of VSEs, which was up by 243 per cent YoY to 120 (2022: 35).

The MGC also spotlighted the PlayMyWay budgeting tool, whose sign-ups rose by 322 per cent YoY to 11,549 (2022: 2,736), which the commission attributed to the launch of the service at Encore Boston Harbor (6,200 sign-ups since its September 2022 launch).

Sign-ups for the PlayMyWay service were also up YoY at MGM Springfield and Plainridge Park Casino.

Casinos participated in Responsible Gaming Education Month as well as Problem Gambling Awareness Month, promoting PlayMyWay as well as lower-risk gambling guidelines and positive play initiatives. Each of the three casinos also took part in internal and external messaging.

Training was also offered by internal and external sports betting experts as the offering was rolled out across the state, which included the development of new VSE forms and materials. 

At the GameSense information centres, responsible gambling activities were offered including GS Jeopardy, Scenarios Quiz, Pick Your Bet Game, Superbowl Game and a Pyramid Game.

The Massachusetts Council on Gambling and Health’s Racial Justice and Health Equity Committee also held meetings monthly and spent time learning more about First Nations.

In terms of GameSense community outreach, gambling awareness presentations were given at 16 recovery centres, posters were distributed at community justice support centres, and staff attended community events and provided training.

GameSenseMA.com was also updated to include sports betting and pari-mutuel wagering, over 500 social media and digital graphics were created, and digital ad campaigns achieved over 4.1 million views.

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