Massachusetts iGaming Bill Sets Ambitious 2026 Target

A bill introduced in the Massachusetts legislature two weeks ago that would allow iGaming in the state, as well as specifically end sweepstakes casinos, seemed like a long shot, but has been drawing increasing media attention and positive publicity in the Puritan State.

Building on the momentum of some past iGaming bills and an earlier iteration of this bill from back in January, the bill has drawn mostly positive spin from politicians and the general public alike, though odds remain long for now.

It envisions empowering the already respected and experienced Massachusetts Gaming Commission with licensing and overseeing iGaming casinos throughout the state, as well as empowering these regulators to enforce much stricter laws governing the use of a dual currency sweeps operator to offer casino-style games.

While we should be clear that there is inconsistent reporting due to several other iGaming bills having been floating around, the actual text of the H4431 bill lays out fines for sweeps operators of $10,000 to $100,000 a violation, with up to a two-year jail sentence for repeat offenders.

It would allow for each of the state’s three current operators to be issued a license as well as for each of them to partner with three other operators apiece to issue "skins," or online casino sites hosted by one operator but licensed through a land-based casino for a "relatively" small piece of the revenue. Other iGaming bills have mentioned allowing for up to four independent online-only casinos.

Licensing fees in this version are a bit lighter than some others as well, with $100,000 upfront licensing fees and then $100,000 renewals, compared to up to a million for licensing fees in some other past bills. It also has a tax rate of only 15% versus the suggestion of 20% in those other pieces of legislation. Either of which would pale in comparison to Pennsylvania, where the online slot tax rate is an eye-watering 54%.

Other interesting tidbits are no credit card deposits, must be 21, and no more than $20,000 in deposits in a 24-hour period. It also has a rather “optimistic” effective date of New Year’s Day 2026. Perhaps that is aimed more at the ending of Sweeps and less about the licensing and background checks on multi-billion dollar casino companies operating not only in multiple states but also multiple countries. That might stretch on for most of 2026.

The bill has been referred to the Economic Development and Emerging Technologies Committee, where it will need to make a strong showing before moving on to a House vote. Already, union critics who claim online casinos cost land-based casino jobs have been sharpening their long knives with horror stories out of Atlantic City about job losses. Though it’s quite interesting how they all choose stats that begin immediately pre-COVID.

And proponents won’t have much trouble mentioning the $350 million plus that the Garden State earned in online casino tax in 2024. Though a bit of a drop in the bucket in the $60 billion Massachusetts annual budget. Still a hundred million here, a hundred million there, and it all starts to add up, we suppose.

It would be easy to dismiss this bill as a long shot, especially with so many iGaming bills in more promising states failing to make it to the finish line this year, but Massachusetts does have some things working in its favor: the State Gaming Commission has built a solid reputation and has shown it can move forward quickly on complicated gaming expansion if there is the political will.

It’s probably best to think of H4431 as more of a marker of where iGaming discussions are now, rather than a fait accompli, but in a state where gaming law has historically moved glacially only to jolt forward all at once, it’s worth watching closely whether this latest attempt might be the one to build momentum and break out, or just leave us a starting place for discussions next session.