Massachusetts lawmakers spent Thursday examining whether the state should take its next major step into digital gambling, with the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies holding a hearing on a proposal to authorize online casino gaming. Supporters of the expansion repeatedly argued that Massachusetts residents are already wagering online through offshore operators, leaving players unprotected and the state without any share of the revenue those activities generate.
Rep. David Muradian Jr., who introduced House Bill 4431, emphasized that online gambling is already widespread among residents but occurs entirely outside state oversight. “There are no consumer protections, no responsible gaming standards, and the bill will change that,” Muradian told the committee, underscoring the absence of regulatory safeguards in the current landscape.
Muradian’s legislation would empower the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to supervise the new industry, allowing the state’s existing licensed casino operators to expand into digital platforms offering online casino games. By keeping operations under the umbrella of established, regulated gaming entities, supporters say the bill aims to ensure continuity in oversight while introducing additional player protections that do not exist in the offshore market.
Supporters Cite Revenue Potential and Consumer Protection Gaps
A central feature of the proposal is a 15% tax on adjusted gross internet gaming revenue. Muradian noted that the bill is designed so that the money collected would support key public priorities. As he described it, revenue would contribute to “education, local aid and responsible gaming program dollars rather than being lost to said black unregulated markets.”
Advocates for legalization say the state is effectively forfeiting significant resources by allowing offshore gambling sites to flourish unchecked. Under the bill, those lost dollars could be redirected into state programs while providing transparency about where money flows and how gambling operations are managed.
Data Highlights Scale of Illegal Online Gambling in the State
To illustrate the breadth of the unregulated market, gambling consultant John Pappas shared detailed metrics with the committee. According to Pappas, “Residents conducted more than 250,000 monthly searches for online casino and poker content, and that’s resulted in 1.2 million visits to illegal online casino sites just here in the state every single month.” His testimony suggested that any attempt to restrict online gambling through prohibition is already impractical, given consumer behavior and the accessibility of offshore operators.
Pappas’ data reinforced one of the core arguments made by proponents: that illegal gambling is not a theoretical concern but a measurable, ongoing activity drawing large numbers of Massachusetts residents. Legislators were told that this scale of usage highlights both the vulnerability of players – who have few avenues for recourse when dealing with unregulated sites—and the missed fiscal opportunities for the state.
As the committee continues evaluating House Bill 4431, lawmakers face a multilevel policy question: whether regulating an activity already deeply embedded in residents’ online behavior would offer a safer, more beneficial framework than the status quo dominated by offshore operators. The hearing indicated that advocates see legalization not simply as a revenue mechanism, but as an opportunity to bring order, transparency, and public benefit to a market currently operating in the shadows.
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