Like their peers, Massachusetts regulators say they are involved in the “dangers” of illegal operators in the legal sports market.
Massachusetts regulators join the refrain of state watchdogs clamoring for federal crackdowns on sports betting sites operating outside U. S. law.
Members of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) met Tuesday and voted unanimously to send a letter to the U. S. attorney general. U. S. Treasury Secretary Merrick Garland is calling on law enforcement to prioritize investigations at offshore sites.
“I think the purpose is 0, 0 bad players in the regulated market,” Commissioner Jordan Maynard said at Tuesday’s meeting.
MGC’s letter cites and references a similar message sent through seven other state regulators of legal sports in late April, which prompted federal action against illegal and offshore operators.
Like their peers, Massachusetts sports regulators say they are involved in the “dangers” of those offshore operators and are committed to prioritizing customer protection.
“Overseas illegal gambling operators are not subject to those same criteria through any regulatory authority and take credit for the legalized landscape in jurisdictions like Massachusetts to attract consumers to their products,” MGC’s letter said. “We registered with the jurisdictions that signed the attached letter asking the Department of Justice and its colleagues in the federal government to prioritize investigating those offshore sites. We echo the offer of assistance when considering the effect of those bad actors.
The MGC’s letter comes just months after the Commonwealth introduced its legal sports betting market. Land-based casinos offer home sports betting in late January, while online betting officially began in March. While there have been bumps in the road, betting on regulated events in Massachusetts has already provided millions in tax gains to the state that it wouldn’t have earned before.
In addition, MGC’s letter comes as the legal gambling industry pressures the federal government to take action against illegal operators. Although sports are now legal in more than a portion of U. S. states. In the US, the American Gaming Association has warned that there is still activity on the black and gray market. These operators are competing with the legal market, which has angered regulators.
“The risks posed by these illicit operations are well known, adding to the lack of investment in guilty gambling programs, the loss of state tax revenues that budget vital initiatives, the absence of age verification requirements for minors, the absence of controls to prevent cash laundering, the lack of promises that consumers will get fair payments and much more,” the other seven state regulators wrote in their April 28 letter to Garland.