{"id":10906,"date":"2020-07-23T13:34:37","date_gmt":"2020-07-23T13:34:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.legitgambling.com\/news\/?p=10906"},"modified":"2020-07-23T07:36:50","modified_gmt":"2020-07-23T07:36:50","slug":"massachusetts-betting-supporters-make-final-push-before-legislative-session-ends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.legitgambling.com\/news\/massachusetts-betting-supporters-make-final-push-before-legislative-session-ends\/","title":{"rendered":"Massachusetts Betting Supporters Make Final Push Before Legislative Session Ends"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Massachusetts\"Legislators from Massachusetts<\/a> petitioned locals for suggestions on how to help their flagging economy improve following the widespread lockdowns imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the solutions is to legalize sports betting<\/a>. A number of advocates resumed their push for a bill to legalize sports betting, which they hope could be passed before the legislative sessions ends on July 31.<\/p>\n

The calls were led by David Friedman<\/strong>, who is the senior vice president for legal and government affairs for the Boston Red Sox. Friedman argued in front of members of the Resilience and Recovery Special Committee<\/em> that legalizing sports bets would help support professional sports teams and gaming firms\u2014two of the industries which have been significantly impacted by the pandemic.<\/p>\n

According to Friedman, because sports teams will not handle any sportsbooks, the financial benefits for them would likely be modest. Other industries would benefit more if sports betting became legal. Sports teams would benefit primarily through advertising and sponsorship revenue, which Friedman says is sorely needed due to their current lack of revenue streams.<\/p>\n

New England Public Media<\/strong><\/p>\n

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