At least one lawmaker says that it will take time to determine if the current model for sports betting in Massachusetts needs to be tweaked, even as some states are already revisiting their wagering policies amid a recent burst of bad press.
Massachusetts Rep. David Muradian told Covers on the sidelines of the recent National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS) conference in Las Vegas that Bay State policymakers didn’t want “the perfect to be the enemy of good” in hammering out their legal sports betting bill this past summer.
Muradian voted in favor of House Bill No. 5164 and had been one of the lawmakers pushing to get some kind of wagering on events played by Massachusetts colleges included in the bill.
Ultimately it was, although the state's colleges will need to be playing in some kind of major tournament, such as March Madness, before bettors can wager on them.
“We gave them a pretty darn good bill,” Muradian said. “Could there possibly be tweaking that needs to happen? For sure, but that's like… any industry that's out there.”
Massachusetts has awarded its first mobile sports betting license to WynnBET.
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) December 13, 2022
The pieces are falling into place ahead of the state's late-January target for launching casino-based sports betting and early-March target for statewide mobile wagering. https://t.co/pjaGZPItac
Muradian added gaming regulators have been in "constant contact" with legislative leaders to ensure they are following the letter and spirit of the law that was passed. So, while the Republican representative from Worcester might have a few ideas for how the state could alter its legal sports betting model, there appears to be no rush to try.
Lawmakers in some states have decided to tinker with their systems for event wagering, including after a recent New York Times series that portrayed the sports-betting industry in a sometimes-discomfiting light. In New York, for example, one lawmaker is seeking a crackdown on "predatory" sportsbook bonuses in the wake of the newspaper's reporting.
Massachusetts regulators spent time this past week unsuccessfully trying to make up their minds about whether to allow operators to deduct promotions such as free bets from their taxable revenue. The state's sports-betting bill is mostly mum on the subject beyond a definition of "promotional gaming credit."
Asked if there could be any pieces of legislation regarding sports betting or iGaming tabled in the upcoming legislative session in Massachusetts, Muradian said it is possible, but that those bills would be just several of potentially thousands that are filed.
“I think it's going to take time before we get to a spot where we might need to revisit [the sports-betting law],” said Muradian, who moderated a panel at the NCLGS conference.
Flashback Friday
It took Massachusetts lawmakers until almost the last possible moment in August to settle on compromise legislation for retail and online sports betting sites in the state.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission is now trying to breathe life into that legislated vision by crafting the regulations and reviewing license applications ahead of the target launches for in-person wagering at casinos in January and for statewide mobile sports betting in March. There may be as many as 15 online sportsbooks in the state when all is said and done.
Thus far, it has been slow going, with the commission approving only one retail license for Wynn Resorts’ Encore Boston Harbor and one mobile betting license for the Wynn-related WynnBET. The progress has been slowed somewhat by concerns and a desire for more information from regulators about online betting partners and responsible-gaming plans
While Covers spoke to Muradian before this past week’s progress — or lack thereof, depending on your perspective — the representative noted gaming commissioners have a lot of work to do, such as entities to license and regulations to promulgate. Although he would have liked a quicker start, Muradian also said there needed to be fairness for both the industry and consumers, including ensuring the latter will be dealing with thoroughly vetted operators.
“It's a pretty intensive process,” Muradian said. “I think that they want to vet every company and make sure the process is… fair and equitable for everyone involved.”
