Is sports betting legal in Massachusetts?
Yes, online and in person, at 21. An Act to Regulate Sports Wagering (H.5164) was signed by Gov. Charlie Baker on August 10, 2022 as chapter 173 of the Acts of 2022 and is codified at M.G.L. chapter 23N. Casino sportsbooks opened January 31, 2023, and mobile betting started March 10, 2023. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission licenses seven mobile sportsbooks and three casino sportsbooks.
Where you can bet
The mobile licensees are Bally Bet, BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, Fanatics, FanDuel and theScore Bet (Penn Sports Interactive). BetMGM is tethered to MGM Springfield, Caesars to Encore Boston Harbor, and Fanatics and Penn to Plainridge Park Casino. Bally Bet, DraftKings and FanDuel hold untethered licenses. Retail betting takes place at the three casinos. Betr and WynnBet held one-year temporary mobile licenses from February 2023 and didn't renew them in early 2024. On April 16, 2026, at Bet365's request, the Commission voted unanimously to reopen licensing, with notices of intent due May 15, 2026. Its September 21, 2026 revenue release still listed seven mobile operators.
Chapter 23N keeps games involving a Massachusetts college team off the board unless the team plays in a collegiate tournament of four or more teams, such as March Madness. It bans any wager that depends on an individual college athlete's performance, in-game bets included, along with bets on high school and youth sports and on injuries, penalties, player discipline or replay review. Operators can't take bets from anyone under 21 or accept a credit card deposit.
Mobile operators pay 20% of adjusted gross sports wagering receipts, and casino sportsbooks pay 15%. The money is split 45% to the General Fund, 27.5% to the Gaming Local Aid Fund, 17.5% to the Workforce Investment Trust Fund, 9% to the Public Health Trust Fund and 1% to the Youth Development and Achievement Fund. Through August 2026 the state had collected about $500.35 million in sports wagering taxes and assessments.
How Massachusetts legalized sports betting
Casinos and fantasy sports, 2011 to 2018
Gov. Deval Patrick signed the Expanded Gaming Act (chapter 194 of the Acts of 2011) on November 22, 2011. It created the Gaming Commission and allowed up to three resort casinos in three regions plus one slots parlor, now chapter 23K. Section 91 gave the Governor until July 31, 2012 to negotiate a tribal casino compact for southeastern Massachusetts. Patrick signed a compact with the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe on July 30, 2012, then a renegotiated one on March 20, 2013 that the Interior Department approved. A 2014 initiative to repeal casino gambling reached the ballot after a court fight (below), and voters rejected Question 3 on November 4, 2014, 1,271,404 to 845,880. Plainridge Park opened as a slots parlor in 2015, MGM Springfield in 2018 and Encore Boston Harbor in 2019.
Section 135 of chapter 219 of the Acts of 2016, approved August 10, 2016, let operators offer paid fantasy contests from August 1, 2016 to July 31, 2018 under Attorney General regulations (940 CMR 34.00) and declared them outside the "illegal gaming" definition.
The 2022 sports wagering law
The Supreme Court struck down the federal sports betting ban in Murphy v. NCAA on May 14, 2018, and Massachusetts passed its law four years later. Chapter 173, approved August 10, 2022, created chapter 23N with three license types: Category 1 for casinos, Category 2 for racetracks and simulcast centers, and Category 3 for mobile operators. The same act made fantasy contests permanent under a new G.L. c. 12, section 11M½, repealed the 2016 time limit, and taxed fantasy operators at 15% of adjusted gross fantasy wagering receipts. It also told the Commission to bar advertising that appeals directly to people under 21.
Launch and enforcement, 2023 to 2026
In July 2025 the Commission fined DraftKings $450,000 for taking credit card deposits. Between March 10, 2023 and February 13, 2024, DraftKings accepted 1,160 wagers from 218 customers funded by 242 credit card deposits, $83,667.92 in all, and the Commission ordered those bets refunded. On November 13, 2025, Executive Director Dean Serpa wrote to every licensee that they are "prohibited from offering sports-related event contracts in Massachusetts, directly or via an affiliate" or related business.
Sen. John Keenan's S.302, filed in February 2025 with cosponsors Lindsay Sabadosa and Patricia Jehlen, would raise the mobile tax from 20% to 51%, remove in-play and proposition bets from legal sports wagering, ban sports betting ads during televised games, and require affordability checks before a bettor wagers more than $1,000 a day or $10,000 a month. The Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies reported it favorably on March 9, 2026, and it went to Senate Ways and Means. We found no floor vote as of September 27, 2026.
Sports betting court cases in Massachusetts
Challenges to the gaming laws
KG Urban Enterprises, a would-be casino developer, argued that section 91's tribal window was an unconstitutional racial preference. On August 1, 2012, the First Circuit (No. 12-1233, 693 F.3d 1) affirmed the denial of an injunction but vacated the dismissal of the suit and sent it back.
In Abdow v. Attorney General, 468 Mass. 478, decided June 24, 2014, the Supreme Judicial Court held that the Attorney General erred in refusing to certify the casino repeal petition. The court ruled that voters could abolish casinos under the state's police power without a compensable taking, which put Question 3 on the ballot.
On tribal gaming, the Commonwealth sued to stop the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) from opening a Class II (bingo-type) gaming facility on its Martha's Vineyard settlement lands. On April 10, 2017, the First Circuit (No. 16-1137, 853 F.3d 618) reversed a ruling for the state, holding that the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act impliedly repealed, in relevant part, the 1987 federal settlement act that had made the Tribe's lands subject to state gaming law. We found no suit challenging chapter 23N itself.
Commonwealth v. KalshiEX LLC (SJC-13906)
Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell sued Kalshi in Suffolk Superior Court on September 12, 2025 (No. 2584CV02525), alleging unlicensed sports wagering under chapter 23N, section 5, and pointing to Kalshi's moneyline, spread and over-under contracts and its 18-and-up accounts. Kalshi removed the case on September 16 (D. Mass. No. 1:25-cv-12595). Judge Richard Stearns sent it back on October 28, 2025, calling Kalshi's Commodity Exchange Act argument "a plain vanilla federal preemption defense, not a claim of complete preemption."
On January 20, 2026, Judge Christopher Barry-Smith held that the Commonwealth was entitled to a preliminary injunction barring Kalshi's sports-related contracts without a state license, and that Kalshi's preemption argument "fails." The court entered the injunction on February 6 with 30 days to geofence the state and denied a stay. On February 17 the Appeals Court allowed Kalshi's motion for a stay pending appeal (No. 2026-J-0143), and on March 5 the Supreme Judicial Court granted direct appellate review. The CFTC filed an amicus brief for Kalshi on April 24, 2026, and Nevada, Ohio, 35 other states and D.C. filed one for Massachusetts. The SJC heard argument on May 4, 2026. In June 2026 Judge Peter Krupp let the Commonwealth file a 71-page amended complaint alleging that Kalshi markets to people under 21. We found no SJC decision as of September 27, 2026, so the stay holds and Kalshi still offers sports contracts in the state.
Robinhood Derivatives, LLC v. Campbell
Robinhood sued on September 15, 2025 (D. Mass. No. 1:25-cv-12578), and the state filed a stipulation of non-enforcement on September 26. Judge Stearns dismissed the case as unripe on November 13, 2025, reopened it on January 8, 2026 after Robinhood added a second exchange, ForecastEx, and dismissed the amended complaint as unripe on March 13, 2026. Robinhood appealed to the First Circuit (No. 26-1257, docketed March 23, 2026) and filed its opening brief on August 10, 2026. We couldn't confirm whether the court has scheduled argument.
Polymarket, Novig and Underdog suits
QCX LLC, d/b/a Polymarket US, sued Campbell and the gaming commissioners on February 9, 2026 (No. 1:26-cv-10651). On March 5, Judge William Young administratively closed the case until Kalshi "has exhausted" its state appellate rights, and the state agreed not to enforce against Polymarket in the meantime. Ludlow Exchange, LLC (Novig) sued on August 6, 2026 (No. 1:26-cv-13615). On August 25, Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV stayed it until the SJC rules on the Kalshi injunction, dismissed the commissioners without prejudice, and gave Campbell 60 days after the stay ends to respond. Under the agreement, the state won't bring enforcement against Novig until at least 14 days after the stay lifts. Underdog Exchange DCM, Inc. and UDM, LLC sued on September 8, 2026 (No. 1:26-cv-14098, also before Judge Saylor). That case hasn't produced a ruling as of September 27.
Gambling-loss suits
Massachusetts Gambling Recovery LLC sued Kalshi, Robinhood and others in Suffolk Superior Court on June 11, 2025 (No. 2584CV01630) under the state's law allowing recovery of gambling losses. The defendants removed it in September 2025 (No. 1:25-cv-12705), the plaintiff dropped Robinhood Derivatives, and the court stayed the case for six months in May 2026. A customer class action, Smith v. Kalshi Inc., filed in state court on April 22, 2026, names Kalshi, Susquehanna and Robinhood Derivatives. It was removed on May 28 (No. 1:26-cv-12413), and Robinhood has moved to compel arbitration.
The First Circuit and the national split
The First Circuit hasn't decided whether the Commodity Exchange Act preempts state gambling law, and the one prediction market appeal we found pending there is Robinhood's ripeness appeal. Its closest precedent is New Hampshire Lottery Commission v. Rosen (No. 19-1835, January 20, 2021), which held that the Wire Act's prohibitions reach only interstate wire communications about sporting events or contests. Elsewhere, the Third Circuit ruled for Kalshi against New Jersey on April 6, 2026, and New Jersey's petition, Flaherty v. KalshiEX, LLC (No. 26-299), awaits Kalshi's response, due November 9, 2026. The Ninth Circuit ruled for Nevada on August 28, 2026. Neither ruling binds Massachusetts courts.
Prediction markets and daily fantasy
Massachusetts was the first state to sue Kalshi. Kalshi's sports contracts stay live under the February 17 stay, and Polymarket and Novig have non-enforcement agreements tied to their stayed federal cases. Novig, run by Ludlow Exchange, LLC as a CFTC designated contract market since June 16, 2026, accepts traders in the state who are 21 with ID, the same as the betting age, and builds no vig into its prices. The Commission's November 2025 letter bars licensed sportsbooks and their affiliates from offering event contracts here. Underdog said on September 5, 2026 that it would give up its Massachusetts fantasy license because the state wouldn't let it offer both fantasy contests and prediction markets.
Daily fantasy is legal under G.L. c. 12, section 11M½. The Attorney General regulates it through 940 CMR 34.00, operators register with the Gaming Commission, and they pay 15%. The Commission's list includes DraftKings, FanDuel, PrizePicks, Sleeper and Yahoo.
Help with a gambling problem
Massachusetts Problem Gambling Helpline: call (800) 327-5050 or text GAMB to 800327. It's free and confidential.
Sources
Chapter 173 of the Acts of 2022, An Act to Regulate Sports Wagering
Chapter 219 of the Acts of 2016, section 135 (fantasy contests)
S.302 (2025-2026), An Act addressing economic, health and social harms caused by sports betting
MGC press release 26-033: August 2026 casino and sports wagering revenue
MGC press release 26-016: Commission to reopen sports wagering licensing (Apr. 16, 2026)
MGC letter to sports wagering licensees on prediction markets (Nov. 13, 2025)
InGame: DraftKings fined $450,000 in Massachusetts for credit card deposits
Secretary of the Commonwealth: 2014 Question 3 statewide results
KG Urban Enterprises, LLC v. Patrick, 693 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 2012)
Commonwealth v. Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), 853 F.3d 618 (1st Cir. 2017)
Attorney General press release: AG Campbell sues Kalshi (Sept. 12, 2025)
Commonwealth v. KalshiEX LLC, D. Mass. No. 1:25-cv-12595 (remand order)
Covers: Judge allows Massachusetts preliminary injunction against Kalshi (Jan. 20, 2026)
InGame: Appeals Court stays the Kalshi injunction (Feb. 18, 2026)
MickBransfield.com: Prediction Market Litigation Tracker (Massachusetts dockets)
CFTC press release 9219-26: amicus brief in Commonwealth v. KalshiEx LLC, No. SJC-13906
Amicus brief of Nevada, Ohio, 35 other states and D.C., SJC-13906
CommonWealth Beacon: Clash with Kalshi reaches SJC (May 4, 2026)
Cointelegraph via TradingView: Massachusetts files amended complaint against Kalshi
Robinhood Derivatives, LLC v. Campbell, D. Mass. No. 1:25-cv-12578 (docket)
Robinhood Derivatives, LLC v. Campbell, First Circuit No. 26-1257 (docket)
Ludlow Exchange, LLC v. Campbell, D. Mass. No. 1:26-cv-13615 (docket)
Underdog Exchange DCM, Inc. v. Campbell, D. Mass. No. 1:26-cv-14098 (docket)
Sports Betting Dime: Underdog sues five states and gives up seven fantasy licenses (Sept. 8, 2026)
Massachusetts Gambling Recovery LLC v. Kalshi Inc., D. Mass. No. 1:25-cv-12705 (docket)
Robinhood Markets Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 (legal proceedings)
First Circuit opinion, New Hampshire Lottery Commission v. Rosen, No. 19-1835 (Jan. 20, 2021)