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By Pat Evans
Massachusetts won’t have legalized sports betting, at least for now, as the state Senate rejected a proposal Wednesday night. An amendment had been proposed to allow the state’s casinos, racetracks and online operators to apply for a license to take bets on sports.
Estimates suggest Massachusetts could bring in between $20 million to $35 million in revenue per year from legalized sports betting.
Missing the boat: On election night, three states — Louisiana, Maryland and South Dakota — voted to approve sports betting. With those additions, more than half of the U.S. could have active legalized sports betting by 2022.
“If we don’t do it in this bill, we should absolutely get to work before we end this year to make sure this is done,” Massachusetts Sen. Marc Pacheco said. “I am very concerned that we are going to be missing the boat on this.”
Betting Boon
Through the first nine months of 2020, U.S. sports betting has generated $667.8 million in revenue, up 27% year-over-year. That revenue has been crucial to some states as they weather pandemic-related budget shortfalls.
