Massachusetts Gaming Commission Chair: state would be ´ready´ to issue licenses if sports betting is legalized

“We feel really confident that with all the due diligence we’re doing, if we were designated the regulator of legalized sports wagering, we’d be able to get those regulations in place nimbly and we’d be able to start issuing licenses (to) start accepting sports bets,” said Chair Cathy Judd-Stein.

She joined several other legal experts in a roundtable discussion hosted by UNH’s law school, in a state where sports betting is legalized.

Judd-Stein made sure to emphasize the role the Massachusetts House has played in pushing sports betting forward, noting that they passed legislation that would put the Gaming Commission in charge of regulating the industry. She noted that the state Senate “is actively looking at these issues, but everything is up in the air,” she said.

She also outlined some of the steps the Gaming Commission has taken already to prepare the state to usher in sports betting, including reaching out to regulators across the country who have recently introduced sports betting in their states and projecting potential budgetary and IT needs that may arise if sports betting is legalized. The Gaming Commission also published a white paper last year on responsible gaming.

When asked why there’s been such a delay in implementing sports betting in Massachusetts, Judd-Stein was coy, only alluding to the gridlock in the state Legislature by making a nod to “newspaper articles” that have covered the issue.

“The Massachusetts Legislature demonstrated back in 2011 their desire to be thorough and deliberate and careful when they expanded the Gaming Act,” she said, referencing the law that also brought casinos to Massachusetts. “I say stay tuned. If and when the Massachusetts legislature decides to legalize sports wagering in Massachusetts it will be done very, very thoughtfully.”

Although both Gov. Charlie Baker and the state House have expressed strong support for sports betting, it has yet to come up for a vote in the state Senate. Some senators have cited opposing views on legalizing collegiate sports betting and on the dangers of gambling have as reasons for the holdup.

By Amy Sokolow