Just this past Monday, June 23, a public hearing went down with the Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure in Massachusetts.
The discussion was about House Bill 332 and Senate Bill 235—basically, the two bills trying to get online casinos up and running in the Bay State.
These bills were first put on the table by Senator Paul Feeney and Representative Daniel Cahill back in February.
What is in the proposal?
If this proposal sees the light of day, it will make provision to legalize playing casino-style games like online slots, roulette, craps, poker, and other table games, whether from your phone or computer. Which brings us to what other supplies these bills come with.
The plan’s got a blueprint for ten online casino licenses. Six of these are specially set aside for the state’s three existing brick-and-mortar casinos, letting each partner up with two online gaming operators.
What does it cost to get in on this? An iGaming license would set an operator back $5 million upfront for a five-year run, plus a non-refundable $200,000 just for processing.
There’s also a temporary, one-year licenses for an initial $1 million. After that first five years, operators could renew their licenses for another five-year stretch, again for $5 million
.
What about the money for the state? Massachusetts also plans to take a 20% tax rate from the gross gaming revenue of these online casino operators.
David Prestwood, government affairs manager for DraftKings, said:
“Massachusetts has an opportunity to lead on this issue by enacting smart, well-regulated, and reasonably taxed i-gaming legislation. The Commonwealth can both help protect its citizens and, while doing so, unlock hundreds of millions of dollars in new revenue.”
Prestwood points to unregulated market
Opposition parties like Jaimie McNeil of the Local 26 Hospitality Workers’ Union and the National Association Against iGaming (NAAiG) have shared their reservations on the bill. While some cite the cannibalization of land-based casinos, others are noting the loss of jobs it will cause.
But you see, Prestwood, he thinks their concern won’t cut it because just before the hearing on Monday, he did a quick search on “best online casino in Massachusetts, and, not to his surprise, a bunch of unlicensed operators popped up, Some from abroad, operators who were totally ready to offer these games, even though Massachusetts doesn’t regulate them.
“Online casino gaming is already happening in Massachusetts, just not in a legal, regulated, or taxed environment,” he said.
But we can all agree that Preswood’s vehemence for the legalization of online casinos did not come as a surprise. DraftKings already runs online casinos in about six iGaming states, including New Jersey, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. So this could be strictly business for him.
Although when it comes to the three land-based casinos in Massachusetts, there might be a division because while Wynn Resorts stopped operations for its online brand, MGM and Penn still have their online casinos operational in other iGaming states.
For now, the committee hasn’t cast a vote on the online casino bills, but there’s still a fighting chance. The Massachusetts legislative session doesn’t wrap up until November 19th, so a lot can still go on.
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