Sports Betting Legislation in Massachusetts Will be Postponed

Massachusetts Sports Betting Launch Sports Betting

Massachusetts Sports Betting Launch Won’t Come Quickly

By Blake Roberts Founder & Editor in Chief Updated: 13 August 2022

Blake Roberts Founder & Editor in Chief

Blake Roberts is the founder of Betting.US and is currently heading the creative team as Editor in Chief. Born and raised in Morgantown, West Virginia, Blake is a great sports fan, with football and basketball being his favorite. He’s our trusted voice for all betting-related matters.

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Last week saw legislation legalizing sports betting in Massachusetts get the green light from the State Legislature. It has now been passed over to the state governor, Charlie Baker. The news is exciting for the many sports fans across the state, as well as for the sports betting industry.

However, despite legislation moving forward, officials have warned people not to get excited too quickly, as there is still a long way to go. The Massachusetts Gaming Commissioner, Brad Hill, has warned that the state needs to get everything just right when it comes to legalizing and implementing sports betting and that this will not happen overnight.

He has indicated that although many people might have been hoping for a sports betting launch before or during the upcoming football season, this was not a viable outcome. Hill said that it is more likely to be next year before sports betting goes live because setting up the regulatory framework and implementing sports betting could take months.

Good and Bad News for Sports Fans

There are mixed emotions among sports fans across the state as they deal with both the good and bad news. With only the sports betting supporting governor left to act, the state can almost certainly look forward to legal sports betting soon. However, for some, it may not come soon enough.

Some people in the media have apparently been suggesting that everything could be completed very quickly and that sports betting in the state could be up and running in a very short period of time. However, Hill has made it clear that this won’t be the case. He said:

I want the public to understand, as we as commissioners are starting to understand, that this isn’t something that’s going to happen overnight.

Hill added that he had seen quotes in the newspaper ‘from the public and others’ that sports betting could be launched very soon. He said that he wanted the public to be clear that it was likely to take longer than many people imagined.

Many Steps to Complete Before Launch

Although Gov. Baker has made it clear in the past that he supports sports betting in the state, there are no guarantees that he will sign it into law. In addition, even if this happens, there are many processes that have to be set up and completed to get legal sports betting ready for launch.

Despite this, some senators involved with the legislation said they hoped everything would be in place by the start of the football season. However, the gaming commissioner has made it clear that this is very unlikely to happen.

After the legislation was passed, a virtual meeting took place and officials from the gaming commission said that there were many steps that had to be taken once Gov. Baker had signed the bill into law. They also urged people to keep in mind the amount of work that would be required before sports betting in the state could go live.