Massachusetts lawmakers worked late into Monday morning, and finally got a bill passed.
Sports betting will now be legalized in the commonwealth. My immediate thought? I would stick to offshore books like BetOnline.ag while they iron this thing out. They have the best bets, and logistics of this thing may not be ready in time for football season anyway. Plus – if you use promo code CLNS50 you’ll get a 50% welcome bonus on your first deposit.
The guts of this bill are (surprisingly) incredibly consumer friendly. Bettors can wager on both collegiate and professional sports through casinos, kiosks, and mobile phone applications – with the only stipulation being that you can’t bet on in-state college teams (e.g. Boston College, UMass, etc.)
This is awesome news for the state. It’s going to bring in a ton of money. The argument here was that gambling can be dangerous – which is true, but people were doing it anyway. So why not tax it? Now it’s up to lawmakers to use that money for good – but that’s above my pay grade.
As far as the specifics of the taxation, there is a 20% mobile tax and a 15% retail tax on wagers. There has been some confusion on who pays these taxes. Remember I said the bill was incredibly consumer friendly? The books pay the tax – now the consumers. Your winnings are your winnings. There is also no advertising ban – so books are free to promote anywhere and everywhere they choose. (wink, wink: CLNS Media.com)
I am proud to announce that the Sports Betting Conference Committee has reached an agreement on legislation that will legalize wagering on professional and collegiate sports in Massachusetts, bringing the immense economic benefits of a legal sports betting industry to MA. (1/2)
— Speaker Ron Mariano (@RonMariano) August 1, 2022
Governor Charlie Baker has been for this as he said back in April, “I’ve said before that with all that’s going on in other states and especially the ones around us with regard to sports betting, it’s important for us to pass legislation and legalize it here.”
So now it’s up to him. There’s officially a bill on his desk for him to sign. Once that is done, there will be a mad dash for casinos and sportsbooks to get everything ready in hopes to launch prior to the NFL season, which is just 39 days away.
All in all, this is a major win for bettors, Massachusetts residents, and sports betting writers 😉.
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