Massachusetts bill looks to radically alter state’s sports betting laws
Draft legislation calls for the tax rate to more than double, affordability checks on high-stakes wagers, and in-play and prop betting to be banned
A bill has been tabled in Massachusetts outlining proposals to dramatically change the East Coast state’s online sports betting laws.
Democrat Senator John Keenan, author of the bill, has suggested tax on sports betting be increased from 20% to 51%, which, if it became law, would make Massachusetts the joint-highest in the country for a commercial market – matching New York’s 51%.
Senator Keenan also called for an amendment to prohibit in-play and prop bets, while VIP customers staking $1,000 a day or $10,000 a month with one operator would be subject to an affordability check.
With regard to the affordability check, daily or monthly wagers should not exceed 15% of the money the customer holds in their bank account.
Furthermore, the draft text proposes a ban on betting ads screened during sports events, while affiliates would be prevented from receiving compensation based on a customer’s betting. In other words, revenue share deals would be verboten.
There is also a call for a crackdown on the language used relating to bonuses, same game parlays (SGPs), odds boosts, and “risk free” wagers to appeal to new and existing customers.
This bill isn’t the first time Senator Keenan has attempted to make major changes to the Massachusetts online sports betting laws; in May, he also proposed hiking the tax rate to 51%, though this was rejected by the Senate.
“The public harm issues are going to get so far ahead of us unless we act,” Keenan said in the state Senate prior to his amendment being thrown out.
“We have an obligation to all the residents and taxpayers of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to use whatever revenues we can from the industry to prevent the harms from happening.”
The general consensus seems to be that Keenan’s latest recommendations have very little chance of becoming law in the Bay State, yet tax rises – and floating the idea of increases – across various states has become a common theme of late.
In 2023, Ohio doubled its tax rate to 20%, while lawmakers in Illinois introduced a graduated system last July, with the highest-earning operators, namely FanDuel and DraftKings, paying 40% on gross revenue.
And last week, Maryland Governor Wes Moore proposed taking the rate from 15% to 30% in his state as part of the 2026 fiscal budget.
Speaking at a conference on January 16, Rush Street Interactive co-founder and CEO Richard Schwartz hit out at tax hikes, saying lawmakers going after sports betting operators wasn’t the best way to generate additional revenue to fix budget deficits.
He also argued that higher taxes lead to players seeking out the black market, as supported by evidence in Europe.
In a bid to elevate the tax burden, DraftKings announced plans last year to introduce a surcharge on net winnings from January 2025 in states with rates north of 20%, yet the idea was ditched following public backlash and the firm’s stock plunging on the Nasdaq.
However, the Boston-based operator has looked to lessen the impact of New York’s sky-high tax by rolling out a subscription service.
The subscription costs $20 a month, or $240 a year, with customers receiving odds boosts on parlays and SGPs.
The regulator, the New York State Gaming Commission, gave the greenlight to the service, although industry opinion seems to be divided on whether or not it’s a smart move.