Racetrack and slot parlor
Resort casino Planned Indian casino Simulcast wagering facilityLegal forms of gambling in the U.S. state ofMassachusetts includecasinos,sports betting,parimutuel wagering onhorse racing, theMassachusetts Lottery, andcharitable gaming. TheMassachusetts Gaming Commission regulates commercial operations under state jurisdiction.
Parimutuel wagering onhorse racing is allowed at the state's only active racetrack,Plainridge Racecourse.Simulcast wagering on horse anddog races is also offered atSuffolk Downs andRaynham Park, which previously operated as racetracks.[1]
Betting on horse and dog racing was legalized in 1934.[2]
Suffolk Downs opened in 1935 and was the state's primary site forThoroughbred racing until it held its last races in 2019.[3]
The first dog tracks wereWonderland Greyhound Park andTaunton Dog Track, opened in 1935.[4][5] They were joined in 1941 by Raynham Greyhound Park.[4] The Taunton track closed in 1981,[6] and its operations were absorbed into the Raynham track, which became known as Raynham-Taunton Greyhound Park.[4] Both remaining tracks closed by the end of 2009, when dog racing was banned by theMassachusetts Greyhound Protection Act.[7]
Harness racing began in 1947 atBay State Raceway (later named Foxboro Raceway).[8] Suffolk Downs included the sport in its calendar from 1959 to 1970.[9] Foxboro closed in 1997 and was replaced in 1999 with the opening of Plainridge.[10]
In addition to the major tracks, wagering was also conducted on horse and dog races atagricultural fairs around the state, including theNorthampton Fair,Marshfield Fair,Great Barrington Fair,Weymouth Fair, Berkshire County Fair (atBerkshire Downs),Brockton Fair, andTopsfield Fair.[11][12]Race fixing was notoriously common at these meets.[11][13] This fair circuit came to an end when the last remaining venue, Northampton, held its final racing meet in 2005.[11]
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TheMassachusetts Lottery offers draw games andscratchcards. The Lottery also offerspull tabs for sale at bars.[14]
Private lotteries were common in early colonial history, but as public attitudes turned against them, Massachusetts banned all lotteries in 1719.[15][16] The province's first public lottery was authorized in 1745, to pay for expenses related toKing George's War.[17][18] At least fifteen lotteries were authorized from 1749 to 1761, until theLords of Trade expressed their disapproval of the practice,[19] effectively banning public lotteries in Massachusetts until theAmerican Revolution, when lotteries again became frequent, until a new ban was enacted in 1833.[20] The modern Lottery was created in 1971 and held its first drawings the following year.[21]
Eligible non-profit organizations are allowed to operate certain gambling games for fundraising purposes, includingbridge andwhist,[22]bingo (also called "beano"),raffles,pull tabs, and casino nights (referred to as "bazaars").[23] Senior citizen organizations ("golden age clubs") are also allowed to run bingo games with little oversight, with prizes of $100 or less.[24]
As of 2017, the total annual gross revenues reported for charitable gaming were about $57 million, with $25 million from bingo, $12 million from pull tabs, $19 million from raffles, and $300,000 from bazaars.[25] There were 116 licensed charitable bingo operators.[26]
Several poker rooms throughout the state operate under the casino night law, with daily games benefitting a rotating set of charities.[27]
Whist and bridge fundraisers were legalized in 1932.[28] Beano was legalized in 1934,[28] but then banned in 1943 becauseracketeers were operating games using charities as fronts.[29][30] Raffles and bazaars were authorized in 1969.[28][31] Beano was re-legalized in 1971, with a local election required in each city or town to allow it.[32]
| Casino | City | Type | Owner/Operator |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aquinnah Cliffs Casino (planned) | Aquinnah | Indian casino | Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) |
| Encore Boston Harbor | Everett | Resort casino | Wynn Resorts |
| MGM Springfield | Springfield | Resort casino | MGM Resorts International |
| Plainridge Park Casino | Plainville | Slot parlor | Gaming and Leisure Properties /Penn National Gaming |
| First Light Casino & Resort (planned) | Taunton | Indian casino | Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe |
Both of the state'sfederally recognized tribes have worked for several years to open gaming facilities on tribal lands, under the federalIndian Gaming Regulatory Act. TheMashpee Wampanoag Tribe hopes to open a casino on land inTaunton. TheWampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) plans a small gaming facility inAquinnah, onMartha's Vineyard.
The Mashpee tribe gained federal recognition in 2007, and in 2015 received approval for land to be taken into trust for a casino.[33] Construction on the casino, referred to as Project First Light, began in 2016, located in an industrial park.[34] Later that year, however, a court overturned the land-into-trust approval, and work on the project was suspended.[35] The casino remained in legal limbo as of 2019.[36]
In 2025 a Welcome Center for the First Light Casino development was opened in Taunton, MA. This milestone marked a significant achievement for the MashpeeWampanoag Tribe, serving as a preview of what is to come with the full First Light Casino’s Class III facility.[37]
The Aquinnah tribe announced plans in 2013 for theirClass II gaming facility in an unfinished community center.[38] The state quickly sued to block the project, arguing that the tribe gave up gambling rights in a 1983land settlement, in which the tribe agreed its lands would be subject to state law. The tribe argued that this agreement was superseded by the 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.[39] The tribe prevailed in the legal fight in 2018, and began moving ahead with plans to build the casino at a new site on their reservation.[40] The casino stalled again, however, after courts ruled that the project would have to comply with local building permit requirements, which the tribe saw as a violation of its sovereignty.[41]
Under the Expanded Gaming Act, passed in 2011, as many as three casino resorts and one slot parlor can be opened.[42] A slot parlor opened atPlainridge Park Casino in 2015, and two casino resorts,MGM Springfield andEncore Boston Harbor, opened in 2018 and 2019, respectively. One more casino license may be issued for the southeastern part of the state, but the process has been delayed due to uncertainty about potential competition from the planned Mashpee Wampanoag casino.[43]
Gambling boats have operated at times out of Massachusetts harbors, taking passengers on "cruises to nowhere" in federal waters, where state gambling laws do not apply.[44] The first was theVegas Express, which sailed out ofGloucester from 1998 to 1999.[45][46] TheSouthern Elegance and theEl Dorado set out from Gloucester starting in 1999,[47] as did theMidnight Gambler out ofLynn,[48] before it moved toProvincetown and operated for six weeks in 2000.[49] Another boat, run by Atlantic Casino Cruises, ran out of Gloucester from 2002 to 2003.[50][51] The Lynn harbor also played host to theHorizon's Edge casino cruise, from 2000 to 2009,[52][53] and theAquasino, which ran for several months in 2013.[54]
Sports betting is legal at retailsportsbooks, located at the state's three casinos, and through licensed online betting providers. There are seven online sportsbooks in operation:Bally Bet,BetMGM,Caesars,DraftKings,Fanatics,FanDuel, andPenn Sports.[55]
State lawmakers legalized sports betting in August 2022, as part of a wave of legalization after theoverturning in 2018 of thefederal ban on sports betting.[56] Brick-and-mortar sportsbooks began operations in January 2023.[57] Online betting began in March 2023.[58]
Sportsbooks are taxed at a rate of 15% for in-person bets and 20% for online bets, based on gross wagering revenue (the amount bet minus the amount paid out for winning bets).[59]
Media related toGambling in Massachusetts at Wikimedia Commons
