Keller @ Large: Is Momentum Building Toward Sports Betting In Massachusetts?
BOSTON (CBS) – While several other New England states have legalized sports betting in recent years, efforts have stalled in Massachusetts. Could that be changing in 2022?
WBZ-TV political analyst Jon Keller talked to State House News Service reporters Katie Lannan and Matt Murphy about why momentum could be shifting.
The Massachusetts House passed a sports betting bill in 2021, but legislation has gone nowhere in the senate. Karen Spilka, the senate president, has said in the past that sports betting is not among her top priorities.
The public largely supports sports betting, and a recent State House News poll found that 60% of Massachusetts senators want it.
"It seems like we're getting to the point where there has to be something done," Lannan said. "The big question seems to be what the Senate would do, what their bill would look like. It seems like though while a lot of Senators like the idea, we're not sure in what form. The details are where things get murky."
Murphy said some of the details that still need to be hammered out are the the same that have been discussed for years – whether betting on college sports will be allowed, how to spend money from licenses, and who should be granted licenses.
"I think we're likely to see something happen on this," Murphy said. "It's just not high on (Spilka's) priority list. She's trying to get some other things through before maybe she turns her attention to this toward the end of the session."
In New England, you can currently bet on sports in New Hampshire, Connecticut and Rhode Island.
Keller @ Large: Part 2
