Since 2022, sports betting has been legalized in the state of Massachusetts, which makes it one of the latest of the 32 states that have such allowances. Although it has been fewer than four years since former Governor Charlie Baker, the current president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), signed off on sports betting within Massachusetts, its legality is already being put into question. After a 2018 Supreme Court decision allowing sports betting at a federal level for the first time since 1992, many states, including Massachusetts, started putting in effort to research the possibility of its legality at state levels. In Massachusetts, the decision to allow sports betting came down to the prevalence of illegal sports betting, which was unregulated and often scammed citizens out of their money, and the extra revenue that would come from this program. After the state legalized sports betting, there have been questions about its addiction and the horrific consequences that result.

An effort to restrict sports betting has been led by State Senator John Keenan of Quincy. During a committee meeting last November, Keenan started by apologizing to anyone who had been hurt by the addictive nature of sports betting. “I want to publicly apologize to those who’ve lost the opportunity to sit and watch a game just for the enjoyment of the game, I want to apologize to those who find themselves in the dark spaces of betting addiction, and to those working through recovery and to their families and friends. I want to apologize to those who have lost loved ones to suicide because of gambling issues.  He also apologized because the state “unleashed” a policy that did not consider the crippling negative impact that could result from it. This is contrasted by many benefits to the state that sports betting has facilitated. Since the implementation of sports betting in Massachusetts, the state has taken in over 300 million dollars in revenue to be used for various needs throughout the state, and its money that the state would not have seen without this allowance. Despite there being 300 million reasons to keep sports betting in place, backers of the bill are focusing on the negative impacts of gambling to make the change for the betterment of all Massachusetts residents. 

The bill that is currently being proposed is entitled S.302 or the “Bettor Health Act”. This bill aims to implement a slew of actions that would make sports betting more regulated and reduce the potential of forming an addiction to it. The bill aims to do this in a variety of ways. One way is that the bill seeks to get rid of in-play betting. In-play betting is betting that occurs during the actual game. This bill would close betting before the start of the game, making it only possible to bet on games before they begin. This would allow sports fans to watch the game and actually enjoy it instead of being on their devices placing bets throughout the game. Once the game starts, the opportunity to bet and potentially lose more money would halt. Another type of betting that would be restricted is proposition betting. Proposition betting is betting on factors of the game that either do not affect the final game score or bets on actions from individual players. There are three main proposition bets that this bill would make illegal. One is betting on the statistics of specific players, like how many three-point shots Jayson Tatum makes in a game. Another is betting on the statistics of the game or team, like which team scores first. The last is novelty bets, like what color the Gatorade would be thrown on the winning head coach at the end of the Super Bowl, or how long the singing of the national anthem lasts. These types of bets just add to the number of bets possible to spend money on and are types of betting that are not necessary when it comes to sports betting as a hobby. In addition to these regulations, the bill would also disallow sports betting advertising playing during sporting events. This is another action that seeks to curb the addictive potential of sports betting.

With Charlie Baker now being the president of the NCAA, the head organization of college sports, he has made his stance on college sports betting public. He agrees with Senator Keenan that sports betting should be further regulated and thinks that proposition betting should be banned, at least at the college level. While the bill has been out for over a year at the Massachusetts Statehouse, it is currently making progress to be presented on the floor for a vote. It has already been voted as being favorable by a committee, which then sent it higher up the line. Keep an eye on regulations related to sports betting within the state and restrictions on other forms of betting throughout the country. As gambling and betting have become increasingly popular, the importance of regulations has only been deemed more essential, causing a higher possibility of heightened regulations to come.