Massachusetts Gaming Commission reports on sports wagering’s impact on the Commonwealth

The first report, Sports Betting in Massachusetts: 2023 Economic Impacts Report, aimed to catalog as accurately as possible the ways in which the legalization of sports betting has changed the Massachusetts economy. Researchers used three key points of data to assemble the economic model: casino and mobile sports betting operations, gross gaming revenues, and patron spending behavior. The analysis revealed that casino gambling remains by far the largest driver of economic activity in Massachusetts. 

Sports betting represents a new addition to Massachusetts’s gaming landscape and has generated meaningful revenue for the Commonwealth. The research also showed that mobile operators and casinos operate with different business models, with mobile operators spending about 4% of payments on Massachusetts businesses compared to casinos’ 45.8%. Sports betting’s positive impact on the economy is largely due to the revenue it generates for the Commonwealth and the subsequent expenditure of those funds. 

The second report, Current Trends in Gambling, Sports Betting, and Problem Gambling in Massachusetts, 2022-2024, assessed changes in gambling attitudes, gambling participation, and problem gambling prevalence among monthly gamblers from 2022 to 2024. To gather data, researchers used “online panels,” which consist of groups of people recruited to participate in online surveys in return for compensation. While online panels are not representative of the population, individuals who participate in such surveys tend to be heavy gamblers, which provides a much greater ‘yield’ of individuals with characteristics of the greatest concern to policymakers, regulators, and others seeking to minimize and mitigate gambling harm. 

The report highlighted the rise in participation in most gambling activities from 2022 to 2023, followed by declines in the Spring of 2024, with no major changes in the Fall of 2024. The report identified increases in problem gambling prevalence among monthly gamblers, as well as a rise in family and relationship harms. The findings support continued development of education and harm reduction strategies for sports bettors. The research suggests opportunities to expand responsible gambling tools to support individuals reporting financial harms and/or family or relationship harms. 

These two reports, and the rest of the Commission’s extensive library of research, are available for public review on the MGC’s website.