Massachusetts Sports Betting Ads Could Be Limited Through State Legislation

Posted on: March 27, 2025, 02:15h. 

Last updated on: March 27, 2025, 02:23h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More

Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

• Massachusetts lawmakers are considering limiting sports betting ads
• Massachusetts has one of the richest sports betting markets in the US
• DraftKings calls Massachusetts its home

Massachusetts is home to one of the richest sports betting markets in the country, as its regulated retail and online sportsbook operators accepted more than $7.4 billion in bets last year and kept about $670.8 million of the wagers placed.

Like so many other states where sports betting is allowed, sportsbook firms in Massachusetts continue to flood television commercial breaks, social media channels, billboards, and stadium signage with advertisements promoting the fun and thrill of gambling on professional and college sports. The number of those adverts, however, could soon be reined in should legislation introduced to the Boston capital find favor in the Legislature.

Senate Bill 302, an act addressing economic, health, and social harms caused by sports betting, was filed by Sens. John Keenan (D-Plymouth) and Patricia Jehlen (D-Middlesex). Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa (D-Hampshire) is sponsoring the bill in the lower chamber.

SB302 has been directed to the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies for initial review.

State Safeguards 

Along with banning all sports betting ads during live sports programming, SB302 would prohibit all in-play and proposition bets, which public health experts say are designed to promote addictive betting behaviors by increasing the number of betting opportunities. Bettors would be limited to an unspecified number of bets each day unless they agree to undergo an affordability check to determine if they can afford their losses.

Keenan’s bill also seeks to require online sportsbooks to share anonymized data on their customers so researchers can study problem gambling patterns and better pinpoint warning signs. Sportsbooks would also be forced to double their financial contributions to the Commonwealth’s Public Health Trust Fund.

Online sports betting operators would additionally see their effective state tax rate raised from 20% to 51%.

After talking to public health experts, people with lived experience, members of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, and advocates, Sen. Keenan filed this bill to address specific issues in the Massachusetts gaming industry, as well as the overall concern in the increase in problem gambling,” Sen. Keenan’s office said.

In a statement to the Boston Globe, Keenan likened the addictive nature of sports betting to the opioid crisis.

“If we don’t heed the lessons of the opioid epidemic, we will find ourselves in the very, very same situation,” said Keenan. “If we don’t get out ahead of it, we will have a public health crisis.”

Sportsbooks Respond

The Sports Betting Alliance, whose members include Boston-based DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, and Fanatics, all of which operate sports betting in Massachusetts, said the commonwealth’s online sports betting tax rate of 20% is already higher than the national average of 14%. The trade group also counters Keenan and his co-sponsors’ claims that the expansion of legal sports betting has led to health and social ills.

Data shows that problem gambling rates remain low since the rise of legal sports betting, consumer protections on the legal market are stronger than ever, and that most people spend less per month on sports betting than they spend in a week on their morning Starbucks,” said Nathan Click, a spokesperson for the Sports Betting Alliance.

The Massachusetts Department of Health’s Office of Problem Gambling Services says calls to the agency’s helpline have surged since legal sports betting began in 2023.