With the Massachusetts sports betting market booming — over $7.4 billion in wagers last year — new legislative efforts are aiming to curtail the expansion of gambling opportunities and strengthen safeguards against problem gambling.
These proposed changes are a direct response to mounting concerns about the addictive nature of sports betting, especially among younger audiences.
Stricter Regulations Proposed to Limit Gambling’s Reach
One of the most notable pieces of legislation is the “Bettor Health Act,” introduced by Senator John Keenan. This bill aims to impose stricter limits on the sports betting market by raising taxes, tightening advertising rules, and bolstering the state’s commitment to gambling addiction treatment.
As Keenan explained at a forum on the issue,
“If we don’t see the similarities, we’re going to find ourselves again so far behind trying so hard to create an infrastructure to address it,”
referring to the opioid crisis as a cautionary tale for what could happen if gambling addiction is not proactively addressed.
Key provisions of the bill include an increase in the corporate revenue tax for online sportsbooks in MA from 20% to 51%, bringing it in line with other states like New York and Rhode Island.
Additionally, the bill would ban sports betting advertisements during live broadcasts of sporting events and prohibit misleading marketing that misrepresents the odds of winning.
“The rise of online betting is like the opioid crisis,”
Keenan emphasized, underscoring his belief that immediate action is necessary to curb potential harm.
He also proposed that online sports betting companies double their contributions to the state’s Public Health Trust Fund, which helps fund gambling addiction treatment services.
The bill also seeks to restrict “in-play” and “proposition” bets, which experts warn are particularly addictive due to their high frequency and the temptation to place bets in real time during games.
Massachusetts would also impose limits on the amount of money individuals can wager each day unless operators conduct affordability checks to ensure that bettors can handle their losses.
Industry Response and Growing Concern
While these new proposals are intended to address public health concerns, industry representatives argue that such measures could stifle the growth of the legal sports betting market.
According to Nathan Click, a spokesperson for the Sports Betting Alliance, data suggests that the rise of legal sports betting has not led to a surge in problem gambling.
“Problem gambling rates remain low,”
Click stated, pointing out that consumer protections in the legal market are stronger than ever.
He also noted that most sports bettors spend less per month on gambling than they do on a week’s worth of coffee from Starbucks.
Despite the industry’s defense, Massachusetts has seen a rise in gambling-related problems. Calls to the state’s problem gambling helpline increased significantly following the launch of mobile sports betting in early 2023, and studies show that the percentage of gamblers reporting issues has grown steadily. In 2023, 25.6% of gamblers in the state reported problems, up from 12.7% in 2014.
Additionally, Massachusetts regulators are scrutinizing the practices of major platforms like Robinhood, which recently launched a prediction markets hub. This platform allows users to bet on events like NCAA tournaments and macroeconomic decisions, a move that raised concerns over whether such markets are essentially unregulated forms of gambling.
Bill Galvin, the Secretary of the Commonwealth, has already issued subpoenas to Robinhood, expressing concerns over the platform’s potential to attract young, inexperienced investors to gambling-like activities.
