Sports gamblers could eventually bet on the NBA and NHL at the MGM Springfield casino -- if Massachusetts lawmakers legalize the practice.
MGM Resorts has signed a deal to become the official betting partner of the NHL, following a 2017 Supreme Court ruling allowing states to legalize and regulate sports gambling.
The move comes on the heels of MGM announcing a similar partnership with the NBA in July.
MGM currently offers sports betting in New Jersey and Mississippi, two the six states that have already implemented full-scale legalization, as well as in the long-time legal gambling haven Las Vegas.
Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and New York have also passed bills legalizing sports betting but have not yet launched their industries, according to ESPN .
And MGM is ready to offer bets to Massachusetts gamblers.
"MGM will offer sport betting if legalized in Mass.," an MGM Springfield spokesman wrote in an email.
But despite an initial rush of interest following the Supreme Court's ruling in May of last year, Massachusetts lawmakers have not yet introduced any such legislation. In June, Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies Chairman Rep. Joseph Wagner told WGBY he expects to take up the issue during the 2019 legislative session.
"The approach here is to move this to the front burner but to not move so quickly that we get it wrong," Wagner said.
Illegal sports betting is already big business in Massachusetts, according to an analysis by H2 Gambling Capital, a betting market intelligence firm. H2 estimated that in 2016 Massachusetts gamblers wagered $680 million on "grey market" sports bets -- gambling done on off-shore websites licensed in their own countries but not authorized by U.S. law.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/articl...sf/2018/10/mgm_resorts_signs_sports_betti.amp
MGM Resorts has signed a deal to become the official betting partner of the NHL, following a 2017 Supreme Court ruling allowing states to legalize and regulate sports gambling.
The move comes on the heels of MGM announcing a similar partnership with the NBA in July.
MGM currently offers sports betting in New Jersey and Mississippi, two the six states that have already implemented full-scale legalization, as well as in the long-time legal gambling haven Las Vegas.
Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and New York have also passed bills legalizing sports betting but have not yet launched their industries, according to ESPN .
And MGM is ready to offer bets to Massachusetts gamblers.
"MGM will offer sport betting if legalized in Mass.," an MGM Springfield spokesman wrote in an email.
But despite an initial rush of interest following the Supreme Court's ruling in May of last year, Massachusetts lawmakers have not yet introduced any such legislation. In June, Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies Chairman Rep. Joseph Wagner told WGBY he expects to take up the issue during the 2019 legislative session.
"The approach here is to move this to the front burner but to not move so quickly that we get it wrong," Wagner said.
Illegal sports betting is already big business in Massachusetts, according to an analysis by H2 Gambling Capital, a betting market intelligence firm. H2 estimated that in 2016 Massachusetts gamblers wagered $680 million on "grey market" sports bets -- gambling done on off-shore websites licensed in their own countries but not authorized by U.S. law.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/articl...sf/2018/10/mgm_resorts_signs_sports_betti.amp
