The efforts to legalize online casino gambling in Massachusetts have gone bipartisan.
- Massachusetts Rep. David Muradian has introduced Bill H.4431, which would legalize and regulate online casino gambling.
- The bill includes a 15% tax, deposit limits, age restrictions, a ban on credit card use, and the creation of a Player Health Program to address problem gambling.
- If passed, the law would allow licensed casinos to operate online platforms and position Massachusetts as the eighth U.S. state to legalize iGaming.
Massachusetts Rep. David Muradian, a Worcester Republican, has introduced Bill H.4431, legislation that would permit licensed operators to offer internet-based slots and table games in the commonwealth.
While H.4431 was filed in January, it only began moving on Monday, and was referred to the Massachusetts House of Representatives' Economic Development and Emerging Technologies Committee.
The bill is the third introduced this year (the other two have Democratic sponsors) that would authorize iGaming in Massachusetts, which has online sports betting but no authorized online casino operators.
However, according to the text of H.4431, “illegal internet gaming channels operating throughout the United States pose a critical threat to the safety and welfare of the citizens of the commonwealth and … a secure and highly regulated policy framework will protect the public and positively benefit state revenues and the commonwealth's economy.”
If the bill becomes law (and that’s a big “if”) the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) would be in charge of issuing licenses and regulating iGaming in the state.
Limits for all
Those eligible for licenses would be the state's brick-and-mortar casino operators, which would also have up to three "skins" they could provide to iGaming companies.
An iGaming tax of 15% of revenue would be imposed on licensees. The bill also would establish an "Internet Gaming Fund" to collect the tax revenues collected, which the MGC would administer and have its iGaming-related expenses paid out of.
Residents would have to be 21 or older to use the licensed iGaming sites and total deposits would be restricted to no more than $20,000 in a 24-hour period. Credit card deposits would not be permitted.
No sweeps allowed
Furthermore, a "Player Health Program" would be created by the legislation, funded in part by taxes and fees, "to increase public awareness of problem gambling, promote responsible gaming and provide services for problem gambling prevention, treatment and recovery services."
In addition, the legislation would explicitly ban online sweepstakes casinos in the state. Anyone caught operating or supporting a sweeps casino could face fines of between $10,000 and $100,000 and the potential loss of their gaming license. Repeat offenders could face jail time of up to two years.
Whether H.4431 gains traction in the Massachusetts legislature is to be determined. If it were to pass, though, Massachusetts would become the eighth U.S. state to legalize iGaming, after New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, West Virginia, Delaware, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.
