The Sports Betting Conference Committee has reached an agreement on legislation to legalize sports betting in Massachusetts, according to a tweet early Monday from House Speaker Ron Mariano.
The legislation would allow for wagering on both professional and collegiate sports in the Bay State, according to Speaker Mariano's tweet.
The Speaker thanked other lawmakers for "recognizing the incredible economic opportunity that legalized sports betting presents."
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"People are betting already, so let’s let them bet legally and provide the consumer protections for them," Representative Jerry Parisella of Beverly said.
Rep. Parisella has been working on the bill for a few years now and says in the agreement, casinos and race tracks will get retail licenses, and that there will be 15 mobile applications to allow for mobile betting.
The tax rates are 15% on retail and 20% on mobile, which the operator will pay.
Parisella said each licensing holder would have to pay $5 million for a licensing fee, likely bringing in an estimated $70-80 million. Licenses would have to be renewed every five years.
"We legalize it, we bring it out of the shadows and also we’ll be bringing those people back who are going to Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Connecticut and New York," Parisella said. "We’re surrounded by it, so why not legalize it, regulate it and get the tax revenue from it."
DraftKings CEO Jason Robins said the organization is "thrilled" in a statement following the announcement.
"We are thrilled that our home state has acted to protect consumers, create jobs and grow revenue in the Commonwealth," Robins said in the statement. "We particularly want to thank Speaker Mariano, Senate President Spilka, Chairs Michlewitz and Rodrigues and the members of the conference committee for their leadership. We are hopeful that the legislature will move to quickly pass this bill and Governor Baker will sign it into law.”
Less than two weeks ago, Speaker Mariano said House and Senate negotiators were "far apart" on the legislation. One of the major discussion points was whether or not to allow collegiate sports betting in addition to professional sports.
If signed by Gov. Baker, Massachusetts will join 30 other states and Washington D.C. in legalizing sports betting.
