Massachusetts May See New Gaming Laws in 2017

Massachusetts State Treasurer, Deborah Goldberg, is trying to make sure that her state becomes the latest state to legalize online gaming. Goldberg said the legislation would help to shore up the state's lottery market, which is worth almost $1 billion. Gamers shouldn't get too excited just yet because her efforts will be separate to a state-backed study into online casinos.

The Special Commission on Online Gaming, Fantasy Sports Gaming and Daily Fantasy Sports has until August to make a recommendation as to how the state should approach slots and table games. Goldberg said, "Between the impending arrival of [Massachusetts] casinos, increasing competition from daily fantasy sports, the overall shift to online versus point-of-sale transactions, and our ageing lottery demographic, we have no choice but to pursue new solutions."

Goldberg also said that even though Massachusetts leads the country in terms of keno sales, the market for such games is "virtually saturated" and the state is "preparing for a period of stagnation". Gaming experts will conduct the study to determine the potential of online gambling in the US state.