Encore warns Massachusetts online gambling bill risks jobs, tax revenue

Encore Boston Harbor urged Massachusetts lawmakers to reject a proposed online gambling bill, warning that legalising internet casino games would “cannibalize” the state’s brick-and-mortar casinos and threaten thousands of jobs.

At a Nov. 13 hearing of the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies, Encore said the measure could cost nearly 1,800 positions and cut the state’s GDP by about $450 million. “Internet casino gambling is a bad bet for Massachusetts,” Eileen McAnneny, the casino’s executive director of government relations, wrote in a letter to legislators.

The bill, sponsored by Representative David Muradian, would give the Massachusetts Gaming Commission full authority to regulate internet gaming, impose a 15% tax on adjusted gross revenue and limit online licences to existing casino operators. If approved, residents would be able to play online slots, poker, blackjack and other digital casino games; online sports betting has been legal in the state since 2023.

Muradian told lawmakers that bringing iGaming “out of the shadows” would help curb illegal betting, strengthen consumer protections through age and location verification, and keep tax revenues from flowing overseas.

Opponents argued that legalising online casinos would divert customers from retail properties, reduce tax receipts and worsen problem gambling. Massachusetts has three casinos: Encore Boston Harbor, Plainridge Park Casino and MGM Springfield.

PENN Entertainment, which owns Plainridge Park, backed legalisation but said licences should remain tied to physical casinos. That approach would spur growth without taking away existing in-person business, Jeff Morris, the company’s vice president of public affairs and government relations, said in a letter.

Neighbouring Connecticut and Rhode Island already allow iGaming, alongside New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, West Virginia and Delaware. State Senator Paul Feeney has filed a separate bill to establish a regulated online casino framework.

Lawmakers also faced growing concerns about gambling addiction. A recent University of Massachusetts study found that gambling problems have risen from 20.9% in 2022 to 28% in 2024 following the launch of sports betting.

Former state representative David Nangle, who has publicly discussed his gambling addiction, urged legislators to block the proposal. Citing Harvard public health professor Shekhar Saxena’s warning that online gambling is “10 times more harmful” than traditional forms, Nangle said: “There’s no Narcan for gambling. Don’t turn every cellphone in Massachusetts into a casino.”