BOSTON (WWLP) – State lawmakers are getting ready to break for the summer, but there’s one thing they’re hoping to get done before they leave.
The House passed its own sports betting bill on July 22, and it’s since been sent to the Senate for consideration. Lawmakers want to allow sports betting to be done using apps like draft kings and fan duel, as well as at physical locations like MGM.
“This is a widespread, and frankly a very common activity that’s done legally in more than 30 states including in our neighboring states, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and New York,” State Senator Eric Lesser told 22News.
Even though a majority of the legislature wants to pass a sports betting bill this session, parts of the House’s proposal are already receiving pushback from Senate Leadership. Senate President Karen Spilka said she’s not fond of allowing betting on college sports, but she expects there to be a robust debate on the matter this fall.
Financial experts estimate that Massachusetts is missing out on roughly 60 million dollars annually by not getting this bill done. Money that we simply can’t be missing out on as we emerge from a pandemic.
