New Emerson Poll Measures Support For Massachusetts Sports Betting

According to recent polls, 46% of registered voters surveyed in Massachusetts are in favor of legalizing sports betting.

Emerson College Polling Massachusetts conducted a survey from May 2 to May 4, inquiring 848 registered voters about their stance on the legalization of gambling on professional and college sports in Massachusetts.

Out of the respondents, 34% expressed their disapproval of legalizing sports gambling, while 21% remained uncertain.

Demographics breakdown

Out of the total 848 individuals surveyed, 424 were females, 404 were males, and 19 identified as non-binary or other. The age distribution of respondents was as follows: 30% fell between the ages of 30-49, another 30% were aged 50-64, 24% were 65 years or older, and the remaining 16% were aged 18-29.

According to Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, there is a noticeable age gap in opinions regarding sports gambling. Among individuals aged 18-29, 62% believe it should be legal, while 56% of those aged 30-49 share the same view. Comparatively, only 40% of individuals aged 50-64 and a mere 28% of those over 65 think it should be legalized. In terms of gender, men are significantly more supportive of sports gambling than women, with 60% of men in favor compared to only 32% of women.

The margin of error for the poll was 3.3%.

Sports betting in Massachusetts

Despite multiple attempts by the Massachusetts House, the Bay State remains one of 16 US states where sports gambling is not yet legalized. The lack of support from the MA Senate has been the primary obstacle hindering the passage of these sports betting bills.

However, in the previous month, the state Senate amended and approved H3993, a sports betting bill that had been passed by the House in July. Notably, there are significant variations between the House and Senate versions of the bill.

• The House version permits the legalization of betting on both professional and college sports, while the Senate version only permits the legalization of betting on professional sports.
• The Senate proposes a tax rate of 35% for online sports wagering and 20% for in-person betting, while the House suggests tax rates of 15% and 12.5% for online and in-person betting, respectively.
• The House proposal grants three online skins to each state casino and one retail sportsbook skin to each of the three racetracks. On the other hand, the Senate proposal restricts sports wagering licenses to one in-person and one online skin for three casinos, along with six regional sportsbooks.
• During game broadcasts, the Senate prohibits TV advertising for sports betting.

What’s next?

If the state Senate approves a different version of the bill than the House, the House will need to vote on the Senate version in a concurrence vote. If the concurrence vote is unsuccessful, the matter will be referred to a conference committee, which will attempt to create a mutually agreed bill that is non-amendable.

Three members would be appointed by both the speaker of the House and the Senate president to serve on the conference committee. The bill, once agreed upon, must be approved by both chambers before being sent to the governor.

State Representative Dan Cahill, a co-sponsor of H3993, informed Play MA on Monday that he is unaware of the potential timing for a concurrence vote or the formation of a conference committee in the event of a failed concurrence vote within the House.