New MA Sports Betting Bill Would Add Betting Limits, Raise Taxes to 51%

New MA Sports Betting Bill Would Add Betting Limits, Raise Taxes to 51%

A sports betting bill introduced to the Massachusetts legislature proposes significant changes to MA sports betting, including raising taxes to 51% from 20% and enacting daily and monthly limits on dollars wagered by certain bettors.

The bill, SD 1657, arrives amid a growing national conversation about the dangers of sports betting and the impact it can have on athletes.

Bill would take heavy approach to betting limits, consumer safeguards

The bill proposes several key changes to Massachusetts sports betting:

  • Raising the tax on online sports betting revenue to 51%.
  • Implementing a $1,000-per-day/$10,000-per-month limit on bets an individual makes with a sportsbook unless the sportsbook can verify that the bettor’s monthly wagers don’t exceed 15% of the bettor’s bank account.
  • Adding bonus promotions, same-game parlays, odds boosts, reload bonuses, and “risk-free”/“no-sweat” promotions to the state’s list of  “unfair or deceptive” practices under its consumer protection law.
  • Prohibiting in-play and prop bets.

Other aspects of the bill include barring sports betting advertising during televised sporting events, mandated reporting of certain betting data from sportsbooks for use in responsible gaming research, and adding research of suicide attempts, suicides, and self-harm in relation to sports betting.

How MA sports betting bill could change the landscape

If approved into law, the bill would be seismic on several fronts.

First, Massachusetts would be the first state to implement prohibitions on what is arguably the sports betting industry’s bread and butter: parlays and prop bets.

Second, it would likely bring an end to several of the prominent marketing tools that books use to acquire and retain customers: bonus promos, no-sweat first bets, and odds boosts. The sports betting industry already moved away from using the term “free bets” after Ohio’s regulators banned books in the state from using the phrase, even if it appeared in national ads.

Finally, it would usher in a new era of operator responsibility, requiring sportsbooks to take responsibility for which bettors it allows to wager more than $1,000 a day or $10,000 a month.

MA bill borrows from SAFE Bet Act proposed in 2024

Last year, Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) introduced the Supporting Affordability and Fairness with Every Bet (SAFE) Act. The act called for sweeping legislation, including outlawing sports betting and requiring states to apply to the attorney general to offer legal sports betting.

The MA bill shares certain provisions with the SAFE Bet Act:

  • Sports betting advertising during live events.
  • Restrictions on no-sweat and bonus bets, and odds boosts.
  • Limits on customer deposits in certain situations.
  • Public health examination of sports bettor habits.

The act met spirited opposition from the gaming industry last year.

Gaming marketing expert Adam Wohl spoke with GamingToday’s Brant James last year after the SAFE Bet Act was proposed. He told GamingToday that, in particular, sportsbook advertising is in overdrive.

Sportsbooks have to do a better job of emphasizing responsible gaming in what has become a pervasive advertising market, Wohl added.

“I think obviously they have a responsibility to share their desire for responsibility,” he said. “I don’t want to necessarily compare it to cigarettes, but cigarettes have to put a warning on the package. There are certain people who have addictive tendencies. And I think there’s a responsibility to take care of those people and make sure that they’re being responsible.”

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