Garden Gambling? Fenway Futures? Massachusetts Pro Teams Want Sportsbooks, Too

The sports betting bill was passed with overwhelming support by Massachusetts lawmakers in the House last week. Now, it is the Senate’s turn to step up to the plate and take a swing at the legislation.

The House bill permits the state’s three commercial casinos and a maximum of three racetracks to provide retail sports betting services. Additionally, each casino can offer up to three online skins, whereas each racetrack can have one.

Furthermore, the Massachusetts House of Representatives has approved an amendment that calls for the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to assess the practicality of permitting the state’s professional sports teams to provide sports betting services within their venues. As the Senate deliberates on its next steps, the opinion of these Massachusetts sports franchises has also been taken into consideration.

They like the idea.

Massachusetts pro teams unanimous in support of sports betting

According to a Boston Red Sox representative, as reported by The Boston Herald last week, all major sports franchises in the state support their inclusion in Massachusetts’ newly established sports betting scene.

David Friedman, senior vice president of legal and government affairs for the Red Sox, stated that the Red Sox, along with other major professional sports teams in the state such as the Bruins, Patriots, Celtics, and the Revolution, all endorse the notion.

The amendment proposes a new license category that would authorize franchises to accept sports bets in person, either at their venues or within a half-mile radius. Licenses would be obtained by the teams themselves.

Rep. Jay Livingstone’s amendment suggests conducting a feasibility study to examine the possibility of allowing teams to appoint a third party to handle sports betting. This study would assess various factors, including the potential economic, public health, and safety implications of permitting the Red Sox to offer sports betting at Fenway Park and the Boston Celtics to do so at TD Garden.

According to the amendment, the study must be finalized by December 31, 2022 at the latest.

Massachusetts is not the pioneer in permitting its professional sports teams to engage in sports betting. Preceding legislation has been enacted in four other regions: Arizona, Illinois, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC.

Sports betting proponents continue to marshal support

The teams have previously expressed their support for legal sports betting in Massachusetts.

In November of last year, the teams, along with other concerned parties, collaborated to compose a letter addressed to the state’s legislators, communicating their stance.

The letter highlighted that Massachusetts is passively holding back in the race for more jobs in the innovation economy, using a sports analogy.

According to the letter, if Massachusetts does not legalize sports betting, it would result in negative consequences. The authors claim that this would give illegal, offshore betting companies a significant advantage.

The letter was signed by the Red Sox, Celtics, Boston Bruins (NHL), New England Patriots (NFL), and New England Revolution (MLS), along with the PGA Tour, MGM Springfield, FanDuel, and DraftKings based in Boston.

Is it possible that Red Sox fans will have the option to place run line bets before entering Fenway Park in the future? Only time will tell. In the meantime, everyone is eagerly watching the Senate to see if they will show a change in behavior compared to last year when they did not back the sports betting legislation passed by the House.