Attempts to legalize sports betting in the American state of Massachusetts have hit a roadblock. Whether or not betting should be allowed on college sports is dividing opinion and there are fears it may lead to more gamblers betting on the black market.
Even worse for the politicians in the state, more gamblers will just cross the border to make bets in states where sports betting is legal. That’s producing tax revenue that would otherwise be helping Massachusetts rather than states such as New Hampshire.
One politician concerned over the current situation is Ron Mariano. He’s the Speaker of the House in Massachusetts and is calling for sports betting to be legalized as soon as possible to deter those who end up betting with unlicensed operators.
He also believes that any bill that aims at legalizing sports betting in Massachusetts must allowing gambling on college sports. At present, there are two bills that are looking at legalizing sports betting. However, one of them won’t see betting on college sports being made legal, while the other one does.
The one that doesn’t allow betting on college sports has been passed in the Senate. The one that does allow is going through the House. While this difference of opinion exits, producing a bill that is passed and then given to the governor to sign doesn’t look like being possible.
There’s now a big race going on in the state but it’s nothing to do with athletics or horses. The current regular session of the House ends on July 31. If the current stalemate continues, then there will be further delay to legalization of sports betting.
Mariano also stressed the importance of legalizing sports betting to help the finances of Massachusetts. The Boston Celtics are in the NBA finals but those in the state wanting to bet on them can’t do so legally.
Figures from DraftKings showed that betting of the bets being placed on the Celtics 35% of them were made by Massachusetts gamblers who then went to New Hampshire to make their wagers. A similar situation happened during March Madness and it’s all producing tax revenue that could have been going to Massachusetts.
The American Gaming Association have made their views on the problem clear. They don’t believe that banning betting on college football is going to work. It won’t just lead to gamblers going to other states, some will bet with underground sites. Doing that can result in “damaging impacts” on players.
