The Massachusetts Senate rejected a budget amendment that would have raised the online sports betting tax rate from 20% to 51%. Senator John Keenan proposed the change, citing potential problem-gambling concerns and the prospect of online lottery sales and casino gaming.
Operators in Massachusetts avoid the proposed increase to their online sports betting tax rate.
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The Massachusetts Gaming Commission lists proposed amendments and regulations covering racing, gaming and sports wagering for public comment. The proposals include rules on transfers of racing meeting licence interests, sports wagering accounting controls and play management; the page invites comments but gives no submission deadline.
A Massachusetts legislative committee advanced SB302 and referred it to the Senate Ways and Means Committee, according to the report. The proposal would prohibit in-play and proposition bets, cap wagers at $1,000 per day and $10,000 per month, subject to an exception, and raise the tax rate on gambling companies from 20% to 51%; sportsbooks oppose the restrictions and tax increase.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission reported that sports wagering generated nearly $755m in gross gaming revenue between 1 July 2024 and 30 June 2025, producing $150.7m in state tax revenue. The report also recorded 1.83 million active accounts and more than 1.1 million users of licensees’ play-management tools.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer proposed raising the top online casino tax rate to 36% in her Fiscal Year 2027 budget, reportedly earlier this week. The plan would also end most operators’ promotional-credit deductions from 2027 and introduce per-wager charges for mobile sports betting.
Massachusetts lawmakers are considering Senate Bill 302, which would increase the online sports betting tax from 20% to 51%, according to the report. The proposal would also prohibit in-play and proposition bets, restrict televised sports wagering adverts and VIP programmes, and require affordability checks above specified betting thresholds; its reporting deadline was extended to 6 March 2026.