What's new
Streak Gaming Online Gambling Forum

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Casinos speak up on mobile sports bets in Massachusetts

Users who viewed this discussion (Total:0)

dani3839

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Jan 17, 2008
Messages
82,581
CalvinAyre - Source

Massachusetts lawmakers have completed their most recent hearings on sports gambling in an effort to help them decide whether or not to allow the activity to be legalized in the state. The legislators got together with industry representatives, casino executives and others to hear both sides of the debate this past Tuesday and Wednesday, and the turnout was solid. If the responses from several casinos helped, Massachusetts might continue pushing forward on mobile Sportsbooks.

Among others, representatives from Encore Boston Harbor, which isn’t yet officially open, Plainridge Park Casino and MGM Springfield are interested in seeing mobile sports gambling be approved. The three got together and penned a letter to lawmakers before the hearing, in which they expressed their support for allowing FanDuel and DraftKings to enter the Massachusetts market with their mobile Sportsbooks.

The letter states, in part, “Mobile sports wagering should be reserved for licensed casino operators and a limited number of daily fantasy operators with proven sports wagering experience.

“These operators have already made tremendous investments and are large drivers of economic activity, jobs and tourism for the Commonwealth.”

Jason Robins, the CEO of DraftKings, told lawmakers, “To fully realize the potential for mobile sports wagering, the legalization should allow mobile operators to receive licenses directly from the regulator rather than requiring partnership with land-based facilities.”

There is still a lot of friction regarding whether or not gambling should be allowed on college sports. Massachusetts lawmakers are considering nine different sports gambling bills and if the final draft includes college-level wagers, it will most likely be vetoed by Governor Charlie Baker. Baker, who submitted one of the nine bills, doesn’t want the activity allowed.

Baker’s concerns aren’t without merit, but legalizing college sports wagers might actually be a good thing. It would put the activity front and center and, perhaps, allow it to be controlled while, at the same time, placing an emphasis on integrity and athlete protection.

Senator Brendan Crighton, who supports collect sports gambling, states, “This betting is going on currently and we’re not going to be able to offer a model that lures folks away (from the illegal market) unless we include what is one of the more popular forms of betting.”

Whether or not the hearings helped lawmakers clear the air isn’t yet known. The next couple of weeks will be an indicator, though, as the bills either progress or stall along their journey.
 

Top