A new bill filed in Massachusetts would overhaul the state’s online sports betting landscape by introducing a host of large-scale changes to how business is done.
Sen. John Keenan’s SD 1657 is titled An Act Addressing Economic, Health and Social Harms Caused by Sports Betting.
Among its measures, the Massachusetts bill would:
- More than double the Massachusetts sports betting tax rate from 20% to 51%
- Ban in-play betting
- Ban prop bets
- Set wagering limits of $1,000 per day and $10,000 per month max
- Creates affordability checks and limit wagers to 15% of the amount in a player’s bank account
- Prohibits sports betting ads during televised sports events
- Eliminate compensation for any percentage of wagers or deposits placed by a customer
- Adds bonuses, SGPs and more to unfair and deceptive practices
- Double operators’ mandated problem and responsible gambling initiative contributions to $2 million
Massachusetts already has a reputation as one of the strictest regulated sports betting states. College player prop bets are banned, as are credit card deposits and wagering on in-state college teams unless they are playing in a tournament, and operators must pay a $1 million annual licensing fee and go through an in-person vetting process.
But if this bill and its various suggestions were to gain traction, it would signal interest in transforming the way the state runs online sports betting.
Similarities with SAFE Bet Act
Sen. Keenan’s SD 1657 is backed by the Public Health Advocacy Institute, which also advocated for the federal Supporting Affordability and Fairness with Every Bet (SAFE) Bet Act that was launched last fall.
That legislation, detailed by Rep. Paul Tonko and Sen. Richard Blumenthal in September, put forth numerous proposed measures. Many of them are similar to Sen. Keenan’s ideas, including including prohibitions and limits on betting advertising, mandating affordability checks for sports bettors and introducing deposit and wagering limits.
The SAFE Bet Act also advocated for banning credit card deposits, which Massachusetts already enforces, as well as introducing a national self-exclusion list and limiting the use of customer-facing AI by sportsbooks.
The federal proposal received significant pushback from trade organizations, as well as other regulators and lawmakers. Part of the criticism was that the wide-reaching legislation tried to do too much in one bill. It will be interesting to see whether similar concerns are voiced about the Massachusetts bill.
The SAFE Bet Act received significant pushback from trade organizations, as well as other regulators and lawmakers. Part of the criticism was that the wide-reaching legislation tried to do too much in one bill. Similar concerns would likely be voiced about the Massachusetts bill.
Idea of limiting bettors resurfaces
The suggestion of limiting bettors is one that has been a hot topic in Massachusetts in recent months.
After sportsbooks largely boycotted a previous Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) meeting on the topic in May, the MGC and operators held a more successful follow-up in September.
Operators argued that limiting impacts an extremely small population and stressed that if they were prohibited from limiting patrons, it would likely lead to a significant reduction in the number of markets offered.
There was no immediate action by the MGC at that time.
Keenan returns after failed 2024 tax increase attempt
This is the second time in 12 months that Sen. Keenan has filed legislation looking to hike Massachusetts’ betting tax rate to match New York’s nationwide-highest 51%. His Amendment 828 to do so in 2024 was quickly dismissed by the state Senate.
MGC data reported that online sportsbooks in the Bay State took $764 million in wagers in November 2024, yielding taxable gaming revenue of $79.5 million.
Massachusetts collected a monthly record $16 million in tax revenue under the current 20% rate, up from $9.7 million in November 2023.
To date, the state has collected approximately $213.5 million in total taxes from sports wagering.
