Legislation that would make online gambling legal in the state of Massachusetts has been brought live again by the Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr. Mr. Tarr has been trying to push the online gambling issue for some time now. He made his most recent attempt by using a similar shell legislation called S241 over the Senate’s 2015/2016 session.
However the two-page Bill SD.618 does not contain any details regarding licensing procedures, taxation and tax scheme or regulations. Under the provisions of the Bill, an online gambling operator that is seeking a gaming licence under Chapter 23K of the general laws may also be issued a license, in spite of any general or special law to the contrary. Getting such a licence is not possible in the cases when the company’s activities include or reflect gaming mechanisms which are carried out by the state lottery program.
The limitation imposed to retail operators who have already been issued an operating licence basically means that at this point only MGM, Wynn and Penn Mational would be able to get an Internet Gaming Licence. In fact, the similar situation exists in the state of New Jersey in terms of its online casinos.
The Bill SD.618 related to online gaming presented by Senator Bruce Tarr is only small part of the online gambling issues in the state of Massachusetts. In 2016, the state passed a Bill that legalised daily fantasy sports. The piece of legislation is backed by the legislative body of the Massachusetts, which is aimed at creating and implementing permanent regulation of the matter within a couple of years. Until that happens, the regulation created by the Atorney General Maura Healey are acting as a substitute.
In addition, a separate Bill has been presented by Jennifer Flanagan, a state senator. Ms. Flanagan’s Bill would provide the state lottery with the right to sell tickets over the Internet. The bill passed the Senate of the state of Massachusetts, but did not manage to do the same in the House of Representatives.
As a matter of fact, the online lottery seems to be a hot topic at the state, as it is considered to be able to cover a large range of products and services.
When it comes to online gambling and daily fantasy sports, the Special Commission of Online Gaming, Fantasy Sports Gaming and Daily Fantasy Sports of Massachusetts has been recently exploring a variety of regulatory options. The legislative body in the state will be presented with the Commission’s findings and recommendations on July 31st, 2017.
- Author
Daniel Williams
