LYNN — Massachusetts residents might be able to legally place bets on this year’s Super Bowl, state Rep. Daniel Cahill said.
Gov. Charlie Baker signed Cahill’s bill to legalize sports betting into law on Aug. 10, placing control over gaming licenses with the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.
Although the Gaming Commission does not yet have a set deadline for license applicants, Gaming Commission Chairwoman Cathy Judd-Stein said in a meeting with gambling establishments last Thursday that that the commission expects to get a presentation from staff at its Sept. 8 meeting detailing some kind of a regulatory framework that would give licensees a sense of the commission’s timeline.
Cahill said that since mobile sports betting organizations and nearby casinos already have platforms for online betting, the rollout of legal outlets for sports betting should not take very long.
“I can’t predict how long it can take, but my hope is that, at least by the beginning of 2023, we will have the ability to bid online and in Massachusetts,” Cahill said in a Monday afternoon interview. “Most of the potential vendors have already built out their either online platform or their in-house space for this, so, they’ve been anticipating this for a while now. I expect that once the Gaming Commission issues the licenses for them to be able to go live fairly quickly.”
Cahill added that, if all gambling platforms are vetted and licensed quickly, avenues for legal sports gambling should be made available by the time winter sports begin next year.
“I’m hoping by the end of 2023, we’ll be off and running, and it’s just in time for, you know, professional basketball is really getting going at that point, as is hockey, and of course, playoff football and then the Super Bowl. That would be a great opportunity for us to have everything in place by those deadlines by those dates,” he said.
Cahill said that a percentage of state and local revenue from sports betting will be allocated toward educating and treating the public on and for gambling addiction.
“We don’t want to exacerbate people’s gaming addictions, so the more education for folks, and the more treatment and access to knowledge and information, the better. We think that is going to be a really important component of what we do online betting. And then, of course, the other benefit of this is that there will be more funds for other programs that we’ll want to fund,” Cahill said. “This is going to be something that players are going to enjoy the experience of, we hope, and also the state will be able to put funding towards education and anti-addiction services and other programs that are really important to fund in Massachusetts.”
Sen. Brendan Crighton filed a similar bill in the Senate to legalize sports betting in 2019. He said that the city’s proximity to the Encore casino in Everett and Suffolk Downs in Boston, makes sports betting legalization a priority for a city formerly reliant on an illicit gambling market.
“Everett’s just down the street, so if people want to be able to, you know, bet at a physical location sportsbook, they could certainly go there, I know Encore plans on opening up as soon as possible. The mobile component is really one of the more attractive features with sports betting. Right now we’ve heard from constituents that time and time again, either they’re forced to bet illegally on a mobile app, or they have to drive to New Hampshire,” Crighton said. “Our constituents now would have closer access at Encore, and also potentially Suffolk Downs, depending on where they site their facility. There will be physical locations they can go to more easily, but also the mobile app, will be an attractive feature for Lynn residents.”
Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at [email protected].
