HOUSE . . . . . . . . No. 3974
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, July 19, 2021.
The committee on Economic Development and Emerging
Technologies to whom was referred the message from His Excellency the
Governor relative to expanding sports wagering in the Commonwealth
(House, No. 70), the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 502) of
David Biele for legislation to authorize sports wagering in the
Commonwealth, the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 506) of
Daniel Cahill and Steven S. Howitt relative to establishing and regulating
sports wagering in the Commonwealth, the petition (accompanied by bill,
House, No. 514) of Bradford Hill relative to creating a public
advancement fund with monies transferred from registration and renewal
fees from online gaming, daily fantasy sports, and online sports betting,
the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 515) of Bradford Hill
relative to increasing education funding from certain gaming activity
proceeds, the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 516) of Bradford
Hill for legislation to regulate online gaming, daily fantasy, and online
sports betting, the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 517) of
Bradford Hill relative to sports betting and online gaming and the
establishment of a public advancement fund with monies received from
such activities, the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 518) of
Bradford Hill relative to the regulation of online gaming and daily fantasy
sports and increasing education funding from monies received from such
activities, the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 519) of Bradford
Hill for legislation to establish a public advancement fund from
registration and renewal fees from online gaming, daily fantasy sports, and
online sports betting, the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 531)
of Orlando Ramos and others relative to authorizing and regulating sports
wagering, the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 535) of Thomas
P. Walsh and Steven S. Howitt relative to sports betting, and the petition
(accompanied by bill, House, No. 3832) of Lindsay N. Sabadosa relative
to sports wagering, reports recommending that the accompanying bill
(House, No. 3974) ought to pass.
For the committee,
JERALD A. PARISELLA.
 FILED ON: 7/19/2021
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3974
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)
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An Act to regulate sports wagering.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Section 7 of chapter 4 of the General Laws, appearing in the 2020 Official
2 Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the Tenth clause and inserting in place thereof the
3 following clause:-
4 Tenth, “Illegal gaming,” a banking or percentage game played with cards, dice, tiles,
5 dominoes, or an electronic, electrical or mechanical device or machine for money, property,
6 checks, credit or any representative of value, but excluding: (i) a lottery game conducted by the
7 state lottery commission, under sections 24, 24A and 27 of chapter 10; (ii) a game conducted
8 under chapter 23K; (iii) sports wagering conducted under chapter 23N; (iv) pari-mutuel wagering
9 on horse races under chapters 128A and 128C and greyhound races under said chapter 128C; (v)
10 a game of bingo conducted under chapter 271; and (vi) charitable gaming conducted under said
11 chapter 271.
12 SECTION 2. The General Laws are hereby amended by inserting after chapter 23M the
13 following chapter:-
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14 CHAPTER 23N.
15 AUTHORIZATION AND REGULATION OF SPORTS WAGERING
16 Section 1. This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Massachusetts Sports
17 Wagering Act”.
18 Section 2. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the operation of sports
19 wagering and ancillary activities are lawful when conducted in accordance with the provisions of
20 this chapter and the rules and regulations of the commission.
21 Section 3. As used in this chapter the following words shall, unless the context clearly
22 requires otherwise, have the following meanings:-
23 “Adjusted gross sports wagering receipts”, an operator’s total gross receipts from sports
24 wagering, excluding sports wagers made with promotional gaming credits, less the total of all
25 winnings paid to wagerers in such games, which shall include the cash equivalent of any
26 merchandise or thing of value awarded as a prize, and all excise taxes paid pursuant to federal
27 law.
28 “Category 1 license”, a license issued by the commission that permits the operation of
29 sports wagering in-person at a gaming establishment as defined in section 2 of chapter 23K, and
30 through not more than three individually branded mobile applications or other digital platforms
31 approved by the commission. Provided, the mobile applications or other digital platforms must
32 each receive a category 3 license pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
33 “Category 2 license”, a license issued by the commission to: (1) a person or entity
34 licensed by the commission in accordance with chapter 128A, or its successor, to conduct a live
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35 horse racing meeting, or (2) a running horse racing licensee that conducted simulcast wagering
36 as of 2021 as authorized by law, or (3) a greyhound meeting licensee that conducted simulcast
37 wagering as of 2021 as authorized by law, that permits the operation of sports wagering in-
38 person on the premises where either: (1) live horse racing is conducted in accordance with
39 chapter 128A, or (2) the licensee is authorized by law to conduct simulcast wagering on horse or
40 greyhound racing, and through not more than one individually branded mobile application or
41 other digital platform approved by the commission. Provided, the mobile applications or other
42 digital platforms must each receive a category 3 license pursuant to the provisions of this
43 chapter.
44 “Category 3 license”, a license issued by the commission that permits the operation of
45 sports wagering through a mobile application and other digital platforms approved by the
46 commission.
47 “Collegiate sport or athletic event”, a sport or athletic event offered or sponsored by, or
48 played in connection with, a public or private institution that offers educational services beyond
49 the secondary level.
50 “Commission”, the Massachusetts gaming commission established in section 3 of chapter
51 23K.
52 “Governmental authority”, any governmental unit of a national, state or local body
53 exercising governmental functions, other than the United States government.
54 “License”, any license, applied for or issued by the commission under this chapter,
55 including, but not limited to: (i) an operator license; or (ii) an occupational license.
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56 “National criminal history background check system”, the criminal history record system
57 maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, based on fingerprint identification or any
58 other method of positive identification.
59 “Occupational license”, a license required by an employee of an operator when the
60 employee performs duties directly related to the operation of sports wagering in the
61 commonwealth in a supervisory role.
62 “Operator” or “sports wagering operator”, any entity permitted under this chapter to offer
63 sports wagering to persons in the commonwealth through a category 1 license, category 2 license
64 or category 3 license.
65 “Operator license”, a category 1 license, category 2 license or category 3 license to
66 operate sports wagering.
67 “Official league data”, statistics, results, outcomes and other data relating to a sporting
68 event that is obtained pursuant to an agreement with the relevant sports governing body, or with
69 an entity expressly authorized by the relevant sports governing body to provide such data to
70 sports wagering operators, which authorizes the use of such data for determining the outcome of
71 tier 2 sports wagers on such sporting event.
72 “Personal biometric data”, any information about an athlete that is derived from that
73 athlete’s DNA, heart rate, blood pressure, perspiration rate, internal or external body
74 temperature, hormone levels, glucose levels, hydration levels, vitamin levels, bone density,
75 muscle density, or sleep patterns.
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76 “Professional sport or athletic event”, an event at which 2 or more persons participate in a
77 sports event and receive compensation in excess of actual expenses for their participation in such
78 event.
79 “Promotional gaming credit”, a sports wagering credit or other item issued by an operator
80 to a patron to enable the placement of a sports wager.
81 “Qualified gaming entity”, an entity that: (i) holds a gaming license as defined in section
82 2 of chapter 23K; (ii)(1) is licensed by the commission in accordance with chapter 128A, or its
83 successor, to conduct a live horse racing meeting, (2) is a running horse racing licensee that
84 conducted simulcast wagering as of 2021 as authorized by law, or (3) is a greyhound meeting
85 licensee that conducted simulcast wagering as of 2021 as authorized by law; or (iii) offers an
86 interactive sports wagering platform.
87 “Sports event” or “sporting event”, any professional sport or athletic event, collegiate
88 sport or athletic event, motor race event, electronic sports event, competitive video game event
89 or any other event authorized by the commission under this chapter.
90 “Sports governing body”, an organization that is headquartered in the United States and
91 prescribes final rules and enforces codes of conduct with respect to a sporting event and
92 participants therein.
93 “Sports wagering”, the business of accepting wagers on sporting events or portions of
94 sporting events, other events, the individual performance statistics of athletes in a sporting event
95 or other events or a combination of any of the same by any system or method of wagering
96 approved by the commission including, but not limited to, mobile applications and other digital
97 platforms; provided, that sports wagering shall not include the acceptance of any wager with an
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 98 outcome dependent on the performance of an individual athlete in any collegiate sport or athletic
99 event, including but not limited, to in-game or in-play wagers; provided, further that sports
100 wagering shall not include any acceptance of wagers on a high school or youth sporting event;
101 provided further, that sports wagering shall not include fantasy contests as defined in section 135
102 of chapter 219 of the acts of 2016. Sports wagering shall include, but is not limited to, single-
103 game bets, teaser bets, parlays, over-under, moneyline, pools, exchange wagering, in-game
104 wagering, in-play bets, proposition bets and straight bets.
105 “Sports wagering account”, a financial record established by an operator for an individual
106 patron in which the patron may deposit by any method approved by the commission and
107 withdraw funds for sports wagering and other authorized purchases, and to which the operator
108 may credit winnings or other amounts due to or authorized by that patron. Such account may be
109 established and funded by the patron electronically through an approved mobile application or
110 digital platform.
111 “Tier 1 sports wager”, a sports wager that is determined solely by the final score or
112 outcome of a sporting event and is placed before the sporting event has begun.
113 “Tier 2 sports wager”, a sports wager that is not a tier 1 sports wager.
114 “Wager”, a sum of money or thing of value risked on an uncertain occurrence.
115 Section 4. (a) The commission shall have the authority to regulate the conduct of sports
116 wagering under this chapter. The power and authority granted to the commission shall be
117 construed as broadly as necessary for the implementation, administration and enforcement of this
118 chapter.
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119
120 (b) The commission shall have the authority to promulgate rules and regulations
121 necessary for the implementation, administration and enforcement of this chapter. The
122 commission may promulgate emergency rules and regulations in accordance with applicable
123 procedures for the promulgation of emergency rules and regulations.
124 (c) The commission may promulgate rules and regulations including, but not limited to,
125 those governing the acceptance of wagers on a sports event, other event or a series of sports
126 events; types of wagering receipts which may be used; methods of issuing receipts; methods of
127 accounting to be used by operators; types of records to be kept; types of systems for wagering;
128 protections for patrons placing wagers; and promotion of social responsibility and responsible
129 gambling; provided, that such regulations shall include a requirement that all mobile applications
130 and digital platforms authorized for sports wagering include prominently upon each entry into
131 the application or platform, the following statement: “If you or someone you know has a
132 gambling problem and wants help, call the Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling
133 hotline at 1-800-426-1234 or the Massachusetts Department of Public Health helpline at 1-800-
134 327-5050.”
135 (d) The commission shall determine the eligibility of a person to hold or continue to hold
136 a license, shall issue all licenses and shall maintain a record of all licenses issued under this
137 chapter. The commission may accept applications, evaluate qualifications of applicants,
138 undertake initial review of licenses and issue temporary licenses upon the effective date of this
139 chapter.
140
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141 (e) The commission shall levy and collect all fees, surcharges, civil penalties and taxes on
142 adjusted gross sports wagering receipts imposed by this chapter, except as otherwise provided
143 under this chapter.
144 (f) The commission shall promulgate regulations to prohibit licensees from purchasing or
145 otherwise using any personal biometric data of an athlete for purposes of sports wagering or
146 aiding a patron in placing a sports wager.
147 (g) The commission shall have the authority to enforce this chapter and any rule or
148 regulation of the commission and may request that the attorney general bring an action to enforce
149 this chapter or any rule or regulation of the commission by civil action or petition for injunctive
150 relief.
151 (h) The commission may hold hearings, administer oaths and issue subpoenas or
152 subpoenas duces tecum in order to enforce this chapter and the rules and regulations of the
153 commission.
154 (i) The commission may exercise any other powers necessary to effectuate this chapter
155 and the rules and regulations of the commission.
156
157 Section 5. (a) No person shall engage in any activity in connection with sports wagering
158 in the commonwealth unless all necessary licenses or temporary licenses have been obtained in
159 accordance with this chapter and rules and regulations of the commission; provided, that the
160 power and authority granted to the commission shall be construed as broadly as necessary for the
161 implementation, administration and enforcement of this chapter.
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162 (b) The commission shall not grant an operator license, other than a temporary license
163 pursuant to subsection (c) of section 6, until it determines that each person who has control of the
164 applicant meets all qualifications for licensure. The following persons are considered to have
165 control of an applicant:
166 (1) Each person who owns 10 per cent or more of a corporate applicant and who has the
167 ability to control the activities of the corporate applicant; provided, however, that a bank or other
168 licensed lending institution which holds a mortgage or other lien acquired in the ordinary course
169 of business shall not be considered to have control of an applicant;
170 (2) Each person who holds a beneficial or proprietary interest of 10 per cent or more of a
171 non-corporate applicant’s business operation and who has the ability to control the activities of
172 the non-corporate applicant; and
173 (3) At the commission’s discretion, any executive, employee or agent having the power
174 to exercise significant influence over decisions concerning the applicant’s sports wagering
175 operations in the commonwealth.
176 (c) Each controlling person pursuant to subsection (b) shall submit to the commission an
177 application in a form determined by the commission, and each such controlling person who is a
178 natural person shall submit to the commission: (i) fingerprints for a national criminal records
179 check by the department of the state police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and (ii) a
180 signed authorization for the release of