Is Online Gambling Legal in Massachusetts?
Massachusetts is well-known for its gambling laws, having seen Paul Revere and the Boston Tea Party take place within its borders. Thus it may come as a surprise that while sports betting was legalized there in January but real-money online casino games have yet to debut. But perhaps soon there could be change!
People aged 21 or over can place sports bets at one of three casinos in Massachusetts – Encore Boston Harbor in Everett, Plainridge Park Casino in Plainville and MGM Springfield in Springfield – currently. On Friday however, this betting opportunity will expand further by including mobile gambling options as well.
Massachusetts online sportsbooks may be exciting, but they come with risks. Massachusetts’ three casinos must not only abide by all state gambling regulations but also monitor player activity and make sure there is no gambling addiction, while acting as hubs of information and assistance for bettors who may be unfamiliar with gambling or money management, according to Marlene Warner of the Massachusetts Council on Gaming and Health – who operates gambling help centers within each casino where patrons can speak with experts before placing themselves on voluntary self-exclusion lists if desired.
New Massachusetts online sportsbooks will not only offer traditional sports betting opportunities but will also allow bettors to place bets on events other than traditional ones such as Big Game MVP awards, NFL draft, professional league bowl games and competitive eating contests. Although it remains to be seen how many of these new betting opportunities take hold in practice, industry officials certainly have much work ahead of them to prove themselves successful in expanding betting markets across Massachusetts and beyond.
Massachusetts may have joined only 30 other states in offering sports betting, but it has made an impressive start. Within its inaugural week of offering legal betting, Massachusetts saw $550 million bet and nearly $9 million collected as tax revenue – with bets placed through three casinos accounting for nearly half and online sportsbooks like BetMGM, FanDuel and DraftKings accounting for the remaining.
Obwohl Massachusetts appears to be setting the groundwork for legalized online casino games, no timeline has been set to allow this. Online casinos do not follow the same regulations as sportsbooks – in order to offer real-money games in America companies must obtain a license from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC), who oversee all aspects of gambling such as licensing investigations and compliance; however they have taken no steps toward legalizing online casino gaming here yet.