Small Companies Advise Massachusetts Senators to Legalize Sports Betting

Coming together to promote inclusion

Almost 90 small companies have hired the Massachusetts Senate to legalize sports wagering in the state this year.

A collection of dining establishments, private clubs, and bars made the plea on Tuesday afternoon, claiming that small businesses urgently need assistance due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The company wishes to form part of Massachusetts’s legal sports wagering landscape.

The supervisors and entrepreneurs sent a letter to each of the 40 senators backing a sports betting bill from Senator Adam Gomez. The letter describes how legalization would assist increase tax earnings, make it safe for people to put bets, and improve “geographical fairness” for those who do not live near gambling establishments.

Laying out the benefits

The letter describes how small businesses have been “definitely wrecked” by the pandemic and triggering hundreds to shutter for good. According to the letter, those still in service “had to make deep cuts to stay afloat and are holding on by a thread.”

The 90 businesses likewise noted that many people go across state lines into Rhode Island, New Hampshire, or Connecticut to place sports bets. This implies that Massachusetts is missing out on possible tax earnings.

They struggle to take on gambling establishments offering slots and table games.

The group claims that small businesses can not lose any more clients. In particular, those businesses close to gambling establishments will struggle if they can not provide in-person sports betting. The letter details how they take on gambling establishments offering slots and table games and complimentary drinks and the serving of alcohol until later.

The group likewise believes kiosks would assist suppress problem gambling, providing a “less predatory” setting than people wagering at home or inside a casino.

Possible betting legalization

In concluding its goals, the letter mentions that the group wants consideration for inclusion in some shape or form in a legal sports betting landscape.

In the last few years, practically 20 expenses associated with sports wagering legalization have failed in Massachusetts. Legislators have differed in viewpoint on essential topics such as tax rates and wagering allowance on college sports.

That stated, there have been some favorable signs that sports wagering legalization could be on the way. Last week, Senator Eric Lesser, co-chairman of the Joint Committee on Economic Advancement and Emerging Technologies, expressed optimism that legalization will happen in 2022.

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