Legislator Wants Massive Overhaul of Sports Betting in Massachusetts

If a Massachusetts state senator has his way, mobile sportsbooks in the Bay State will be paying significantly more in taxes while a host of other, not-so-industry-friendly changes will be on the horizon.

Welcome to Taxachusetts

Senator John F. Keenan has filed Bill SD 1657, which would raise taxes on mobile sportsbooks’ revenues from 20% to a whopping 51%, which would match New York, Rhode Island and New Hampshire as the highest rates in the nation. Keenan filed a similar bill last year, but it did not gain any legislative traction.

“The public harm issues are going to get so far ahead of us unless we act,” Keenan said in May 2024. “And we have an obligation to all the residents and taxpayers of the commonwealth of Massachusetts to use whatever revenues we can from the industry to prevent the harms from happening.”

But the changes don’t stop there. In-game wagering and same-game parlay betting that has become so popular throughout the states that have legalized sports betting would no longer be allowed. The latter is a proven cash cow for the books, with the low-risk, high-reward nature of the bet acting as a tempting opportunity for bettors.

“Those in-game bets have been described to me by somebody who had a real issue with gambling, true addiction to the point of suicide, ‘That’s the crack cocaine of betting,'” Keenan said last year.

Gambling Ads and Promos

Keenan’s bill would also ban sports betting advertisements during live sporting events and rewards-based compensation predicated on betting volume.

In addition to in-game wagering and same-game parlays, the bill would also include the following in its unfair and deceptive practices category:

• Bonus promotions.
• Odds boosts.
• Reload bonuses.
• “Risk-free”, “no-sweat” or other free wagers commonly understood to have a similar meaning and utilized to attract a person to patronize a qualified gaming entity.

SD 1657 would also make Massachusetts the first in the nation to conduct “affordability assessments” if a bettor wanted to wager more than $1,000 in a day or $10,000 in a month. A player’s checking accounts would be scrutinized, and no more than 15% of the amount in their account would be allowed for wagering purposes.

Tightening Regulations

Should SD 1657 pass, it would be a bellwether to the rest of the nation.

Tightening up the industry has become a battle cry for many legislators who believe there are too many societal ills resulting from sports betting. There is even the SAFE Bet Act, which is a federal bill that would supersede state policies on sports betting should it be passed.

Although the odds of SD 1657 passing are marginal at best due to the extreme measures outlined within the bill, it could be a precursor for a less draconian change to Massachusetts’ current sports betting laws. Sportsbooks in Massachusetts have generated $212 million in tax revenue from sports betting profits since 2023.

The flip side of the coin is that higher taxes on sportsbooks and fewer betting options for their customers will equate to worse odds, fewer if any bonuses, and push a portion of the clientele to local bookies or offshore markets, neither of which pay taxes to the state, for better deals than they can get at their regulated market.