REP. BRAD HILL, a Republican from Ipswich, is leaving the Legislature after nearly 22 years to become a member of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. Hill is a joint appointment of Gov. Charlie Baker, Attorney General Maura Healey, and Treasurer Deborah Goldberg. He is replacing Bruce Stebbins, who left the Gaming Commission to join the Cannabis […]
Gambling
Posted inOpinion
Mass. casinos returning to pre-pandemic revenue levels
THE STATE’S THREE gaming facilities reported strong revenues in July, with the numbers at Encore and MGM Springfield returning to pre-pandemic levels and the Plainridge Park slots facility trending in the same direction. The best way to compare slot revenues is on a per machine, per day basis. Slot revenues, in general, can fluctuate wildly […]
Posted inGambling
House approves sports betting, again, with bipartisan vote
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE HOUSE OVERWHELMINGLY approved a bill to legalize sports betting in Massachusetts on Thursday evening, but even before the vote, the question of whether to allow wagers on college sports emerged as a major sticking point between the House and Senate. The House voted 156-3 to pass its sports betting bill […]
Posted inGambling, Transportation
Legislation on the move: Sports betting, T governance, vote-by-mail
THE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE teed up a bill authorizing sports betting for debate on Thursday, marking the second time the House will weigh in on the policy. Lawmakers have been discussing sports betting since 2018, when the US Supreme Court overturned a federal prohibition banning it. In July 2020, the House passed sports betting legalization in […]
Posted inGambling
Vaccinations slow despite Vax Giveaway
DESPITE THE LURE of millions of dollars in prize money with the Massachusetts Vax Millions Giveaway, the number of people getting vaccinated against COVID-19 in Massachusetts keeps dropping. In the most recent weekly count ending July 6, the number fell to 7,957 a day, down from 12,126 a day the week before and 15,859 the […]
Posted inGambling
VaxMillions not driving up shots yet
THE NEW VaxMillions lottery so far isn’t driving up the rate of COVID-19 vaccinations in Massachusetts. In the week before Gov. Charlie Baker announced the lottery on June 15, 175,071 doses were administered, or an average of 25,010 a day. In the first week after the announcement, the number of shots dropped to 114,437, or […]
Posted inGambling
Blackjack players lose their bet at the SJC
“ACCORDING TO THE WISE gambling proverb, ‘If you must play, decide upon three things at the start: the rules of the game, the stakes, and the quitting time.’” So begins a Supreme Judicial Court ruling written by Justice Scott Kafker and released Wednesday, which concluded that blackjack players at the state’s two resort casinos knew the rules […]
Posted inOpinion
Mass. casinos may need Legislature’s help
I GET IT! Massachusetts is slowly beginning to emerge from the cocoon of the COVID-related shutdown of a significant portion of the Commonwealth’s economy. The effects of that shutdown have been felt across all ranges of business activity, especially our nascent gaming industry. I have read, with some amusement, the news stories touting the post-pandemic bounce […]
Posted inGambling
State launches $1m Lottery game to promote vaccinations
STILL ON THE fence about getting vaccinated? Starting July 1 a Massachusetts vaccine card could be worth $1 million. Gov. Charlie Baker announced on Tuesday the launch of VaxMillions, a vaccine lottery meant to incentivize residents to get vaccinated against COVID-19. “We’re hopeful that this giveaway will give another reason … for people to choose […]
Posted inGambling
Is state primed for sports betting?
WHEN THE MASSACHUSETTS LEGISLATURE held a two-day hearing on sports betting legislation in 2019, the games had only been legal nationwide for about a year, and fewer than a dozen states were allowing sports betting. As the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted life and legislative business for most of 2020, sports betting remained on the sidelines and […]