Last week saw a continued trend to rein in sports betting and its lobbyists. Here are the top stories.
Massachusetts is trying to put reins on the online sports betting industry’s excessive advertisements by proposing to ban sports betting advertisements during all live broadcasts of sporting events. Senate Bill 302, filed by the senators John Keenan, and Patricia Jehlen, proposed to implement several restrictions on the sports betting industry of Massachusetts. The restrictions proposed are not just limited to advertising.
Bill SB302 would also ban the sportsbook from offering all InPlay and Proposition bets. These bets are designed to promote betting throughout the game, which public health experts think is addictive betting behavior. Sportsbook will have to restrict the number of bets they can take from a bettor to an unspecific amount. Although, bettors will have an option to go through an affordability check to prove that they can afford their losses.
Massachusetts is one of the biggest sports betting markets in the country, and the sportsbook operators in the state accepted over $7.4 billion in bets last year. SB302 will increase the tax from 20% to 51% on sports betting revenue. The Sports Betting Alliance, consisting of major gambling operators of the country including BetMGM, Fanatics, and DraftKings has opposed the proposed changes arguing that the current tax rate of 20% is already higher than the national average of 14%.
The spokesperson of the alliance defended the industry by saying that
“Data shows that problem gambling rates remain low since the rise of legal sports betting, consumer protections on the legal market are stronger than ever, and that most people spend less per month on sports betting than they spend in a week on their morning Starbucks”
However, Senator Keenan has a different view of the current situation. Senator Keenan in an interview said,
“If we don’t heed the lessons of the opioid epidemic, we will find ourselves in the very, very same situation, if we don’t get out ahead of it, we will have a public health crisis.”
Bill 302 is being reviewed at the moment by the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies.
A new bill introduced in Florida has proposed a two-year ban on Florida lawmakers from working for fantasy sports companies after they have left office. Rep. John Snyder filed the House Bill 1467, which among other things, expands on the state’s already existing ban on lobbying. The Bill also specifies terms to legalize and regulate the hugely popular industry of Fantasy sports in the state.
The Bill is aimed to prohibit the repeat of an incident last year involving the first executive director of Florida’s new Gaming Control Commission (GCC), Louis Trombetta. Trombetta, during his tenure, held a strong stance against Fantasy sports companies operating in the state of Florida. His actions forced the closure of multiple fantasy sports companies operating in the state. He then resigned from his job to go work as a lobbyist for FanDuel, the biggest competitor of the aforementioned companies.
Snyder commented on the bill by saying that,
“Any time you have a regulator in a position to make significant decisions on the industry, I think it’s important they sit on the bench for a little bit before they get back into it”
FanDuel released a statement defending the hiring of Trombetta, stating that its fantasy sports contests do not fall under Florida’s gambling laws. HB1467, if passed, will change that fact.
Alaska is moving to legalize online sports betting in 2025. Last week, Rep. Davis Nelson filed the Bill HB 145 which proposes to legalize online sports betting in the state. If approved, up to 10 sportsbook operators will be able to get a license from the Department of Revenue and operate in the state.
Alaska is one of the few states that contain no casinos or legalized sports betting and iGaming. It is the largest state in terms of area but is the 3rd smallest in terms of population. The state has no professional sporting teams that play in any high-level leagues in the country. So, the potential for sports betting popularity and the interest of major sportsbooks to operate in the state is unknown. It also remains to be seen if the Bill will find any support in the state Senate as this is the first bill regarding the legalization of sports betting in the state in several years.
In addition to legalizing the online sports betting, Bill 145 also specifies terms for imposing tax on the gambling revenue, and licensing of the sportsbooks wanting to operate in the state. The bill proposes a hefty fee of $100k for a single license to operate sports betting in the state and sets the state’s sports betting tax rate at 20%. Sportsbooks will be allowed to accept bets on college sports and the Olympics. The bill sets the minimum age for sports betting at 21.
Alaska can look to North and South Dakota for inspiration. These states’ population is less than that of Alaska, yet they allow sports betting in the physical casinos within their state boundaries. If the Bill 145 is passed, it would mean that the three smallest states in the country will have legalized sports betting, while the bigger states such as California and Texas don’t.
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Daniel Horvat 
March 31, 2025 
