- Governor Charlie Baker is hoping sportsbooks will open before football season.
- DraftKings is hoping to be the sportsbook provider for Massachusetts.
- The Governor has submitted is own sports betting bill, MA HB 68.
BOSTON – Governor Charlie Baker said on Tuesday that he is hoping that sports betting will be legalized before Congress breaks for the summer.
During the opening of DraftKings new office in Boston, Baker said to the press that he is interested in having sportsbooks open before the upcoming NFL season. Baker also said that sports betting is good for Massachusetts because it will bring additional revenue for the state.
The Governor Is All In
One of the things that shows how much the governor wants sports betting is that he filled his own sports betting bill. MA SB 68 was filed by Baker to legalize sports betting in the state. Several other lawmakers have filed their own sports betting bills as well, so the interest between them is shared.
All of the bills that have been currently filed have not gone further than the introductory stages just yet. Lawmakers have a lot of work to do before any of the bills can come close to becoming a law.
DraftKings Wants In
After touring the new DraftKings office, Baker says he is more dedicated than ever to bring sports betting to the state. DraftKings is also highly interested in sports betting in Massachusetts since their home office is in Boston.
DraftKings has been providing sportsbooks to New Jersey ever since sports betting became legalized in the state. They offer a brick-and-motor sportsbook and a mobile option is available as well. DraftKings is hoping that they will be able to provide a sportsbook to Massachusetts if sports betting were to become legal there.
One of the reasons that DraftKings wants to provide sportsbooks to Massachusetts is because people are already making their sports bets. They are using online offshore sportsbooks to make these bets and Jason Robins, DraftKings CEO, said legalizing sports betting would regulate the practice and bring in a lot of money to the state.
“People still do it. There's a $150 billion annual betting market that exists on the black market in the U.S,” said Robins.” “That just shows people want it, so why not create a safe, legal environment, bring in tax dollars for the state, and create great jobs and opportunities for employers like us?"
Even if sports betting in Massachusetts was legalized tomorrow, there would still be plenty of work needed to be done. State regulators would still need time to write and publish the rules to show how sports betting would work. That is why Governor Charlie Baker wants sports betting sooner rather than later. He wants to make sure that sportsbooks are opened before the NFL season begins.