Massachusetts Rejects Legalization of Sports Betting

The Massachusetts State Senate rejected the legalization of sports betting in the state July 29 by unanimously passing a $455 million economic development bill that does not include any language for the provision.

Earlier in the week, the state's House of Representatives passed its version of a multimillion-dollar economic bill that authorized sports betting. The House bill called for awarding three categories of licenses in-state, and racetracks qualified as one of the three.

Though Sterling Suffolk Racecourse no longer hosts a live Thoroughbred meet at Suffolk Downs, which was sold as real estate in 2017 and is undergoing major redevelopment, SSR would have qualified as a sports betting licensee under the terms of the House bill because it has retained its simulcasting license through at least July 31, 2021.

Multiple amendments to allow sports betting into the Senate Bill were brought forward, but each either failed or was withdrawn during hours of debate.

"As it relates to sports gaming, sports wagering, I believe that certainly the time is close when we are going to be tackling this issue, but the time is not now," said Sen. Michael Rodrigues, the chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, as he spoke on the Senate floor Wednesday night. "Nor is this the proper vehicle to do so in."

New Hampshire and Rhode Island, which border Massachusetts, are among the 18 states conducting legalized sports betting. About a half-dozen additional states around the country have enacted laws to allow sports betting but are not yet operational.

Several state senators who are staunch advocates of sports betting agreed that the economic development bill, which was passed as an emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic, was not the right means for the authorization of sports betting. They remain optimistic that discussions will continue and a standalone sports betting bill will be drafted and passed this year.

Traditionally, the two-year formal session of the Massachusetts Legislature ends July 31. Because of delays earlier in the session due to COVID-19, there are calls to extend the session.