Senate poised to debate sports betting legislation but ban on college wagers could be dealbreaker – MassLive.com

State Sen. Eric Lesser isnt willing to place any bets on when exactly sports betting might finally become legal in Massachusetts.

But the end of the year possibly sometime late into the NFL season could be a safe wager, depending how the Senates formal session plays out Thursday.

The Senate is now poised to hash out a deal on professional sports wagering nearly nine months after the House overwhelmingly passed its own version of the bill. Lesser, whos helmed sports betting dialogue as the Senate chairman of the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies, said passing a bill would ensure Massachusetts attains a level playing field with neighboring states including Connecticut, New Hampshire and New York where gambling on sports is already legal.

I personally think its time to get this done, Lesser, a Longmeadow Democrat running for lieutenant governor, told MassLive. I dont want to prejudge what happens on Thursday, but weve worked pretty diligently and pretty hard over a long period of time to really build consensus within the Senate. Hopefully thats reflected on Thursday.

But the proposed ban on collegiate sports betting in the Senate bill could be a deal-breaker for some elected leaders, including House Speaker Ron Mariano.

I find myself having a tough time trying to justify going through all of this to not include probably the main driver of betting in the commonwealth, Mariano said during a Bloomberg Baystate Business interview last summer. The House bill would allow wagers on the outcome of college sports contests, but not on the performances of individual college athletes.

If college betting is not allowed, Mariano said, the revenue estimate would drop to between $25 million and $35 million annually.

The thorny provision honors a request from the presidents and athletic directors of the eight Massachusetts colleges and universities that have Division I sports programs. Lesser, in an interview with MassLive, defended the prohibition tied to college athletes, arguing they are not paid or protected through collective bargaining agreements unlike their professional counterparts.

My feeling is lets continue the momentum and moving this forward, Lesser said. And lets get some traction going where we have consensus, which is pro sports.

Senate Majority Leader Cindy Creem told MassLive Tuesday afternoon that she remains uncomfortable with what she sees as a regressive bill that may ultimately hurt the people who can least afford to lose their savings to sports betting. Torn by how to vote, Creem said if an amendment legalizing collegiate sports betting successfully passes, she cannot support the legislation.

Im not a fan of college betting because the universities and colleges have written to us, Creem said.

For his part, Gov. Charlie Baker would support college sports betting depending on the legislations wording.

Ive learned the hard way that saying I support a particular thing without actually seeing it in writing is not always a good idea, but Im certainly open to it, Baker said during an unrelated press conference Wednesday at the Massachusetts State House.

States have adopted varying shades of restrictions on betting on college teams, including outright banning wagering for in-state programs or limiting bans to only teams and not individual players.

But gaming experts say Massachusetts lawmakers should be wary of a burgeoning black market if they do not allow collegiate sports betting.

In a regulated, legal market, everything is tracked and monitored, said Bill Pascrell III, a partner at Princeton Public Affairs Group and trustee at responsible gaming nonprofit Entain Foundation U.S. If youre concerned as a college president or athletic director about bets being placed on your athletics, you should be working very hard to advocate for legislation allowing those bets because the black market doesnt allow you to track it ... Youre not stopping people from betting on in-state college play.

Martin Lycka, Entains senior vice president for American regulatory affairs and responsible gambling, said restrictions on college sports betting are ill-considered decisions that do not enhance the integrity of wagering laws.

I would suggest that as long as its properly supervised, college sports is something that betting should be allowed on of course, within reason, Lycka said.

A string of amendments seek to incorporate collegiate betting into the Senate bill, paving the path to compromise to avoid the legislation floundering in a conference committee among House and Senate leaders. Sen. Adam Gomez, who filed one of the proposals, said Massachusetts runs the risk of leaving money on the table.

Collegiate sports is part of the DNA if we want to kill the black market, Gomez told MassLive.

Boston is also one of the greatest college towns in the country, lamented Daniel Wallach, founder of gaming and sports betting law firm Wallach Legal, LLC.

Aside from black market concerns, Wallach said Massachusetts will keep forfeiting sports betting revenues to surrounding states with no tangible gains in protecting Bay Staters.

The inclusion of a collegiate sports betting ban in Massachusetts will be unlikely to dissuade any person who wishes to bet on collegiate sports and that will come at the cost of channeling activity either out of state or offshore, said Wallach, whos also the co-founding director of the University of New Hampshire School of Laws Sports Wagering and Integrity Program.

It will not effectively prevent the activity, Wallach added. It will simply inconvenience those that wish to bet on collegiate sports but not eradicate it.

Reporting from State House News Service was used in this story.