By Bob Katzen
Anticipating that sports betting will soon come to the Bay State, the State House News Forum is holding a forum on Thursday, May 16 from 7:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. at the Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education Center at 10 Winter Place in Boston. A panel of experts will discuss the future of this new tax revenue source and the challenge it presents to current revenue sources like the Massachusetts State Lottery.
On Tuesday, May 28 and Wednesday, May 29, the Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies will hold hearings at the Statehouse on several bills to legalize sports gambling in the Bay State. The May 28 hearing is in Gardner Auditorium and is by invitation only. The May 29 hearing is in Room B-1 and is open to the public.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Murphy v. NCAA to overturn the federal ban on state-authorized sports betting has opened up the floodgates of sports betting in Massachusetts and across the country. Gov. Charlie Baker kicked things off in January when he filed a bill to legalize sports betting.
Some of the key players in government and industry at the forum will discuss the major considerations Massachusetts will address as the legislation is considered on Beacon Hill.
Panelists include Cathy Judd-Stein, chair of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission; Michael Sweeney, executive director of the Massachusetts State Lottery Commission; Chip Tuttle, CEO of Sterling Suffolk Racecourse; and Sen. Eric Lesser and Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante, the co-chairs of the Legislature’s Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies.
Admission is only $10 and open to the public. You can register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-line-on-mass-sports-betting-tickets-60422015876
For more information, contact George Donnelly at gdonnelly@bostoneconomy.com