A new iGaming bill up for consideration in Massachusetts has found a powerful opponent in state treasurer Deb Goldberg.
The House Bill H.4431, which was previously filed by Rep. David K. Muradian, Jr. in January 2025, called for a ban of sweepstakes casinos and establishing a new legal framework for internet-based slot machines, table games, poker and live dealer games. The bill is currently under review by the Joint Committee on Economic Development after being introduced to the house back on 18 August 2025
Democrat Goldberg, who has been in office since 2015, chairs the State Lottery Commission, which recently secured the option to offer products online as an iLottery. Goldberg believes the ability of iGaming operators to advertise will dwarf that of the new iLottery, while she has wider concerns about the safety of people in the state.
At a Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce event on Tuesday morning, she said: “I don’t want to tell you what iLotteries did during Covid, in Michigan and New Hampshire, while we had nobody being able to leave their house. And can you imagine the amount that we would have generated then. So, I would not like to see iGaming come.”
Goldberg’s opposition could yet cause some issues for the bill passing but its proponents argue it will create a safer environment for bettors in the state while providing an additional financial return. Analysis by Rebecca London, a senior government affairs manager at DraftKings, projects Muradian’s bill could bring in up to $200 million in annual revenue for the state.
Governor Maura Healey, however, is wary of making it easier for young people to get addicted to gambling, despite voting to legalize sports betting two years ago. She told reporters on Tuesday 9 December she had “long been concerned” about the potential for those betting on college sports to become addicted.
“I think it’s something that bears looking at and making sure that in the first instance, everything is being done on campuses and elsewhere to educate and to prevent sports betting addiction. And I also think that whatever leagues and others can do to crack down on this is really important.”
Recent betting revenues makes bill hard to resist
While online casino wagering is not yet legal in Massachusetts, politicians have come to see the positive effects of legalizing online sportsbooks, which went into legislation back in 2023. Recent results from the business have been eye-opening. In October, Massachusetts set a sports betting handle record of $892.2 million in wagers at legal sportsbooks.
On top of that, the monthly taxable revenue came in at $71.3 million, which nearly doubled the amount it raised from sports betting in October 2024. Taxable revenue from sports betting allows the state to invest more in education, healthcare, addiction services, and municipal budgets.
In these challenging economic times, state governments are searching for ways to keep the budget balanced and the appeal of sports betting taxation is very real. Some critics, though, would argue it inflicts more damage than it prevents, and there is a prevailing sentiment of a shifting in attitudes towards sports betting by lawmakers.
New bill will attach regulatory guardrails to sports betting
Last month, Senator John Keenan said he would go back in time and take back his vote to legalize sports betting in the state if he could, adding that he was introducing a new bill to combat the harms he feels are being caused by the law he and his colleagues voted for.
At a Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies hearing las month, he said : “I want to publicly apologize to those who’ve lost the opportunity to sit and watch a game just for the enjoyment of the game, I want to apologize to those who find themselves in the dark spaces of betting addiction, and to those working through recovery and to their families and friends.”
Kennedy’s bill would cause a hammerblow to the industry. Some of the measures of bill S.302 include an end to betting advertisements during televised sports events and an end to prop bets and in-play bets.
He is also calling for bet limits of no more than $1,000 daily and $10,000 monthly unless an operator has conducted an affordability study to determine that daily or monthly wagering amounts do not exceed 15% of that bettor’s bank account, no longer allow any employee, affiliate or subcontractor to earn compensation from bets or deposits, and raise the tax paid by sportsbooks to 51% from 20%.
The state of Massachusetts now finds itself at a pivotal moment, weighing the fiscal pull of expanded gambling against growing unease about its social costs. As iGaming, iLottery and sports betting converge into the same regulatory space, lawmakers will need to decide whether tighter controls or new revenue streams best serve the state. The gaze of the wider iGaming business community is fixed firmly on the Massachusetts courts.
References
- Boston 25 News: https://www.wwlp.com/news/massachusetts/with-ilottery-in-works-treasurer-goldberg-opposes-igaming/
- iGaming Business: https://igamingbusiness.com/sports-betting/massachusetts-sports-betting-handle-record-september/
- Cape Cod Times: https://www.capecodtimes.com/story/news/state/2025/11/18/proposition-sports-betting-quincy-john-keenan-mobile-online/87316335007/
- 194th General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S302
- 194th General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H4431
