Patriots

‘MA is losing out to neighboring states’: Charlie Baker promotes sports betting during Super Bowl

Baker has supported sports gambling in Massachusetts in the past.

By Tom Westerholm

February 13, 2022

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Governor Charlie Baker has supported sports betting previously in Massachusetts, but the state has yet to legalize the practice.

On Sunday, using the Super Bowl as a backdrop, Baker once again voiced his support for sports betting in a tweet, noting that Massachusetts loses revenue to nearby states.

“We filed a bill in 2019 and again last year to make sports gaming legal,” Baker tweeted. “MA is losing out to neighboring states on this, especially during big games.

“Enjoy the Super Bowl, and let’s make sports gaming happen!”

Baker, who announced in December that he would not seek re-election, told reporters last month that the legalization of sports gambling is one of the issues he would like to sign into law before he leaves office. A state rep told MassLive.com last July that it could generate as much as $70 million in state tax revenue.

“I know it’s a difficult issue with a lot of elements to it,” Baker said. “And it would be my hope, of course, that our colleagues in the House and Senate would find a way to get to ‘yes’ on that before the end of the legislative session.”

Baker has noted previously that Massachusetts residents can easily gamble … if they are willing to travel outside state lines.

“Right now, most of the New England states are either doing it or going to be doing it soon,” Baker said in 2020. “And it seems to me like this is something that is going to become available in most states … and people in Massachusetts should be able to play in Massachusetts.”