Massachusetts Reverses Course, May Legalized Gambling

Government studies and other reports out of Massachusetts in recent years had gambling rights activists concerned that the state was not making any progress towards actually legalizing online gambling within their borders. That may have been the consensus at the time, but now things are starting to change direction there once again. 

A new bill has made its way to the state legislature that would regulate daily fantasy sports, online sports betting, and other forms of Internet gambling. Although the bill is still in its early stages, if it were approved, Massachusetts could instantly become one of the most open states when it came to legalized gambling within their own borders. 

A commission had been set up in Massachusetts in 2016 that did a year-long study to see what conclusions it could come up with as it related to online gambling and daily fantasy sports. The commission determined that such things should be more carefully regulated in the future to ensure fair play. That was all that the commission was able to come up with though. They did not have a direct plan of action set up and ready to go for how to handle the situation. 

After that commission dissolved, it looked as though Massachusetts would just kick the can a little farther down the road on this issue. However, one of the members of the commission then came out and said that she was a co-sponsor of a bill to regulate online gambling and daily fantasy sports. She is a member of the Massachusetts Senate, and the fact that she is in favor of something like this is very big news for advocates. Having yet another person on their side means that progress really is being made on this issue. 

Right now, the bill that has been put forward has been called vague by some who have read it. The wording leaves a lot to be desired, and it does not tie up some of the loose ends that need to be figured out for regulated gambling to really work. Given this, there is probably still a lot of work that needs to go into this particular piece of legislation.