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Read. Follow. Verify.Massachusetts Senate bill restricts sports betting formats, bans commission-based compensation for operators, and mandates player tracking data sharing
Last action · March 9, 2026: Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on Senate Ways and MeansSponsors: John Keenan and 4 others
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What This Bill Would Do
Massachusetts Senate Bill 302 bans in-play and , caps daily and monthly wagers unless an is conducted, and prohibits sports wagering operators from paying staff commissions based on customer wager percentages. The measure also doubles various fines, mandates annual submission of anonymized player tracking data to research entities, and applies consumer protection regulations to sports betting promotional advertising.
Sports bettors face new wagering caps and restrictions on bet types, while gaming operators face prohibitions on staff commission structures, mandatory data sharing, and broader consumer protection liability for promotional ads.
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
sports wagering operators
Operators face restrictions on bet types, mandatory affordability assessments for high-volume wagers, a ban on percentage-based staff compensation, increased fine caps, and requirements to submit customer tracking data.
sports bettors
Bettors are prohibited from placing in-play and proposition bets, face wagering caps above certain thresholds unless affordability is verified, and have their anonymized gaming behavior data shared with researchers.
research entities
Qualified nonprofit research entities receive anonymized player tracking data to analyze gambling addiction and develop harm minimization and monitoring systems.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are there limits on how much money a person can wager?
How is player data used for research purposes?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
6 actions- Mar 9, 2026SenateCommitteeBill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on Senate Ways and Means
- Jan 15, 2026SenateReporting date extended to Friday March 6, 2026
- Nov 13, 2025JointHearing rescheduled to 11/13/2025 from 11:00 AM-02:00 PM in A-2 and Virtual<br> <span style="color: blue; font-style: italic;">Hearing updated to New End Time</span>
- Oct 31, 2025JointHearing scheduled for 11/13/2025 from 11:00 AM-01:00 PM in A-2
- Feb 27, 2025HouseHouse concurred
- Feb 27, 2025SenateCommitteeReferred to the committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Shift from permissive sports betting to stringent consumer and addiction controls
The bill moves away from open wagering models by banning in-play and prop bets, capping wagers based on bank accounts, and mandating research data collection.
Connected Entities
Sources
malegislature.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance80How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy75Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz65Current news / social attention level
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