In the early hours of this morning, state legislators brought Massachusetts sports betting to life. In what seemed almost impossible, and hours passed the Sunday night deadline, the last minute session was able to get a compromise approved.
The new bill still needs to be signed by Governor Charlie Baker, but that seems like a formality at this point. After all, it was Baker who was pushing for sports bets in his state from the very beginning. He even filed his own Massachusetts sports betting legislation on the matter back in 2019. The bill will allow betting on some college games, just as long as it’s not a Massachusetts school. There is one exception, however, when a state schools is playing in a tournament like March Madness. Estimates say that at least $35 million a year should be collected in tax revenue.
But what about the big question of when will residents be able to start placing legal bets? Well, once the governor signs off the real work begins: Setting the rules and regulations, having the Gaming Commission approve operators, and the state must collect those licensing fees. But it could happen quickly enough to see bets live sports betting in Massachusetts by this fall.
Massachusetts now becomes the 36th state to regulate betting on sports. Residents will be able to place bets at one of the states casinos or race tracks, and up to seven online operators are expected to be approved. Those will most likely include FanDuel and DraftKings, as well as BetMGM and Caesars.
While New York decided to extort a 50% tax rate from their licensees, land based Massachusetts sports betting operators will only pay 15%. while online operators will pay 20%.