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Massachusetts May Not Get Sports Betting In 2020

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker had previously said that legalized sports betting would come to the state at some point in 2020. However, recent happenings suggest that he may have to go back on his word.

Senator Eric Lesser, Senate chairman of the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies, was the bearer of bad news on Thursday. Although numerous sports betting bills have been filed to his committee, he was unable to commit to the 2020 timeframe to get this all done.

“We’re watching New Hampshire closely, just as we watched Rhode Island closely,” said Lesser. “We’re keeping a close eye on it. The timeline and the committee’s work will be determined by our members and the substance of what we’re going over.”

Watching Rhode Island

While everyone is excited for New England’s most populous state to get legalized sports betting, the leaders of Massachusetts are cognizant of Rhode Island’s rough start. It should be noted, though, that Rhode Island is one of the smallest states in the country, and projections of neighboring states coming there to bet were a bit off.

Representative Brad Hill, the House’s assistant minority leader, is expecting a “big push” to make sure that sports betting is legalized before the Legislature finishes in July. He believes the state is leaving a lot of money on the table, which could go to education, transportation, and other areas of need.

“To say I’m disappointed we don’t already have something would be an understatement,” Hill said. “When Rhode Island passed it, I thought we would push quickly, but that didn’t happen. I know there are issues when you implement sports betting, but we have enough information now to adopt some form of sports betting here in Massachusetts. We should be able to do something soon.”

Daniel Wallach, founder of the New Hampshire School of Law Sports Wagering and Integrity Program, said that it would be a great tragedy for Massachusetts not to get sports betting legalized in 2020.

“That would rank as one of the great upsets in sports gambling in 2020,” said Wallach. “Massachusetts remaining on the sidelines by the end of next year would be inconceivable to me.”

Another Player

While Massachusetts plans to sit this year out, it’ll see New Hampshire open for legalized sports betting business on Monday. Not only will Massachusetts watch all the money going to New Hampshire, but it’ll also see its own residents crossing the border to place bets.

DraftKings, which actually has its headquarters in Boston, just signed on to become a major partner in New Hampshire’s sports betting. It’s certainly interesting to see that deal go down, and Massachusetts still feels like it shouldn’t have sports betting within its state borders.

Only time will tell, but you have to believe a deal gets done in Massachusetts at some point. With smaller states in play like Rhode Island, and now New Hampshire, it’s only a matter of time before The Bay State realizes it’s not cashing in on such a profitable business.

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