Three years after the United States Supreme Court struck down the federal prohibition on a state’s ability to authorize sports betting, Massachusetts is still considering whether and how to legalize the practice.[1] Three months into the 2021-2022 legislative session, Massachusetts state legislators have proposed fourteen bills with a range of recommendations.[2] Twenty-five states plus the District of Columbia have legalized sports betting, including New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and New York.[3] Connecticut is on the verge of legalization.[4] Last summer, the Massachusetts House of Representatives voted to legalize sports gambling as part of its proposed economic development bill, allowing the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) to issue seven licenses.[5] The Senate, however, declined to include sports legalization in their version of the bill, opting instead to pursue standalone legislation in a future session.[6] The legislature has had the opportunity to monitor best practices from other states and debate their own proposals. Critical Massachusetts players, including the governor and the senate chair of the economic development committee, support legalization, but with fourteen separate proposals, what should the conference committee include to create a system that offers a full platform and encourages responsible wagering?
Read the blog post by Nicholas Calabraro here.
[1] See Murphy v. Nat’l Collegiate Athletic Ass’n, 138 S. Ct. 1461, 1478 (2018) (holding federal act prohibiting state authorization violates anticommandeering principles).
[2] See Matthew Waters, Analysis: There Are 14 Massachusetts Sports Betting Bills, But Which Can Make It?, Legal Sports Report (February 23, 2021), https://www.legalsportsreport.com/48441/massachusetts-sports-betting-14-bills/ [https://perma.cc/T5HA-HB9D] (outlining Massachusetts proposals).
[3] See Colin A. Young, Lesser Lays Out Landscape For Legal Sports Betting, State House News Service (February 22, 2021), https://www-statehousenews-com.ezproxysuf.flo.org/news/202136 [https://perma.cc/RK9R-VQNP] (reviewing Senator Lessor’s proposal).
[4] See David Purdum, Connecticut, Mohegan Tribe Reach Agreement on Sports Betting, Online Gambling Markets, ESPN (March 2, 2021), https://www.espn.com/chalk/story/_/id/30992186/connecticut-mohegan-tribe-reach-agreement-sports-betting-online-gambling-markets [https://perma.cc/LV4H-X7SA] (reporting Connecticut’s progress).
[5] See Shira Schoenberg, Sports Betting Bill Refiled, Seeks More Revenue, CommonWealth (January 22, 2021), https://commonwealthmagazine.org/gambling/sports-betting-bill-refiled-seeks-more-revenue/ [https://perma.cc/GFA2-KG34] (discussing the Massachusetts House’s action last year).
[6] See id.