Massachusetts lawmakers are again weighing legislation that would significantly reshape the state’s online sports betting market, less than three years after wagering became legal. The revived proposal centers on higher taxes, stricter betting controls, and broader limits on how operators interact with customers.
The bill S302, backed by Sen. John Keenan, was first introduced last February and received a hearing before stalling without a vote. It carried into the 2026 session, and on Jan. 15 lawmakers extended the reporting deadline to March 6. Keenan has publicly said he regrets voting for the 2022 law that legalized sports betting, which launched in March 2023.
At the center of the proposal is a major tax increase. The bill would raise the online sports betting tax rate from 20% to 51%, placing Massachusetts among the most heavily taxed jurisdictions in the country. New York already taxes online sportsbooks at 51%, while Illinois uses a graduated system that can push effective tax burdens above 50% once per-wager and local taxes apply.
Restrictions on wagers, promotions, and ads
The proposal would also reduce the range of permitted wagers. It seeks to remove both in-play betting and proposition bets from the legal menu. Massachusetts already bans proposition bets involving in-state college athletes, and similar efforts to restrict prop or in-game wagering have surfaced in other states. National sports organizations, including the NCAA and NFL, have urged states to eliminate certain betting markets.
Advertising rules would tighten as well. The bill would ban sports betting advertisements during televised sporting events and eliminate VIP programs that cater to high-volume bettors. To accomplish that, it would add the following language to existing law: “(l) Operators, directors, officers, owners, employees, affiliates and subcontractors of the operator or sports wagering operator shall receive no compensation for any percentage of wagers or deposits placed by a customer of the operator or sports wagering operator.”
Affordability checks and expanded oversight
The bill introduces new affordability requirements for higher levels of betting. Operators would need to review a customer’s finances before allowing wagers of $1,000 in a day or $10,000 in a month. Those bets could proceed only if they “do not exceed 15 per cent of the amount said person has available in bank account.”
Other provisions would bar agents or promoters from betting on affiliated platforms, raise annual payments to the Sports Wagering Control Fund from $1 million to $2 million, and expand research into whether sports betting is linked to “suicide attempts, suicides and self-harm among gamblers.” Operators would also need to submit anonymized customer tracking data for research into gambling harm.
A related measure introduced on January 17, 2025, titled ‘An Act Addressing Economic, Health and Social Harms Caused by Sports Betting,’ advances similar ideas and mirrors language from the federal SAFE Bet Act filed last fall.
Source:
“Revived Massachusetts Bill Would Push Tax Rate to 51%, Eliminate Prop Bets”, ingame.com, January 20, 2026
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