(Feature Image from patriotledger.com)
States around the US have been introducing new bills and legislation for online gambling and sports betting at record pace as there seems to be a race to be the latest to accept sports betting as an accepted practice – some states are even recording record betting numbers and pulling in huge revenue after having made the change over the past two years with Colorado certainly being a poster child and a blue print for success – whilst there are ways around restrictions as you can find a list of websites that are proving popular for players looking to get around restrictions, there’s certainly a growing eagerness to see sports betting as a whole legalised and have the practice grow within Massachusetts.
The Governor of Massachusetts, Charlie Barker, has even tweeted out support for this change by saying “We filed a bill in 2019 and again this year to legalize sports betting MA – it’s time to act and get this done. MA is losing out to many of our neighbours on this.” And this is something that is being seen from the activity of sporting fans too – there have been interviews with fans that live right on the border for neighbouring states that have said when it comes to sports betting, they’re able to take a quick five minute drive across the state line, have a coffee, place a bet, and then head back home – it’s a lot of tax revenue being lost out on by the state and something that has been seen across the US through other states that have yet to implement any change and lose out on players travelling across state lines where it’s feasible to do so.
It doesn’t look like the change will be coming any time soon, the bill is now before the senate, but it has been stated by senate president Karen Spilka that looking at this bill isn’t high on the priority, and it may not be until next year where any change can be seen, and whilst the wait may seem quite short, with the first bill being introduced back in 2019 it is still a long wait for any change to be made.
There are a growing number of good examples for what other states have done well and for what change should be avoided too, so if the bill is passed then with any luck, it will be relatively smooth sailing for sportsbooks and casinos alike to get something up and running relatively quickly and it wouldn’t at all surprise to see the framework already existing and just waiting for the go ahead before starting to move forward, and deal with the almost inevitable initial wave of success.
