Massachusetts lawmakers who wish to legalize online casino games are facing March deadlines to move forward with the controversial form of gambling.
While online sports betting is now legal in most states, internet-based casino gambling - also called "iGaming" by the industry - is still rare. Only eight states, including Connecticut and Rhode Island, allow people to bet on roulette, blackjack and other casino-style games on their phones.
Massachusetts is among those considering measures to legalize online casino games. One house bill introduced by state rep. David Muridian argues that regulating and licensing internet-based casino games is in the best interest of residents.
Another piece of legislation, introduced in the senate by Sen. Paul Feeney and in the house by Rep. Daniel Cahill, would allow land-based casinos to offer online casino games.
While supporters of these measures say iGaming would bring in more state revenue, public health leaders say it's a highly addictive form of gambling.
“We have this whole large population of folks who have now become gamblers due to sports gambling,” said Mark Gottlieb with the Public Health Advocacy Institute at Northeastern University in Boston. “They are craving action, gambling action, all the time. And if you open up a whole other realm of gambling for them, I think there is a very high risk of many of them using online casino products, which will compound their struggles with gambling.”
Online casino gambling is already widespread in many other countries, including the United Kingdom and Norway, where health leaders say it accounts for a large proportion of calls to their addiction help lines.
“You can do it middle of the night in your pajamas, in your bed, continuously, rather than having to actually put on some clothes and go down to MGM,” said Andrea Freeman, policy director for the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts, which has been leading an advocacy campaign against online casinos.
She said her organization is especially worried about increasing gambling opportunities for young people. She said one survey they conducted showed that 40 percent of 8th graders already take part in some form of betting.
“With several Western Mass schools, the percentage of youth that are participating in gambling and online gambling and sports betting, even though they're under age, is going up significantly,” Freeman said.
Freeman noted that there are “strange bedfellows” in the effort to defeat online casino legislation – including some entities that strongly support other forms of gambling.
For instance, Wynn Resorts, which owns the Encore casino in eastern Massachusetts, opposes iGaming in the state. Wynn has testified that allowing people to gamble on casino games at home would hurt Encore's profits and therefore state revenue. (MGM, which runs the Springfield casino, already offers online casino products in other states.)
Massachusetts state treasurer Deb Goldberg has also come out against iGaming because it would compete with the state lottery, which is due to go online this summer.
Legislators have until March 16th and 18th to vote on the internet-casino measures before they expire.
State Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa of Northampton is co-sponsoring competing legislation called the “Bettor Health Act”, which would put limits on sports betting in Massachusetts. That legislation has a March 6th deadline.
Sabadosa said she would be surprised if the online casino bills pass on their own this session but they could show up later as part of a bigger economic bill.
