Massachusetts Lawmaker Preps a New 2027 Push to Legalize Online Casino Gaming
Massachusetts state representative David Muradian is preparing to refile online casino legalization legislation for the 2027 session after his 2026 version stalled, having been sent to a "study order" in March that effectively ended its chances for the year. The renewed push would let the state's three existing casino licensees add online gaming to their operations, arguing that regulation is a better answer than leaving residents to an unregulated offshore market that already operates today.
What the bill would do
Muradian's proposal would grant Massachusetts' three current casino licensees — MGM Springfield, Encore Boston Harbor, and Plainridge Park — the authority to offer online casino gaming, with each allowed up to three separately branded platforms. The bill sets a 15% tax on adjusted gross gaming revenue, along with a $100,000 operator application fee and a $50,000 fee per additional platform. It would require player location verification, age checks confirming users are 21 or older, and self-exclusion tools, and it would explicitly prohibit online sweepstakes-style games. Oversight would sit with the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, the same body that already regulates the state's retail casinos and sports betting market.
The argument for it
Muradian's core argument is that the choice facing lawmakers isn't whether Massachusetts residents gamble online, but whether that activity happens through a regulated, taxed system or an unregulated one. He has framed the bill as a response to an existing offshore casino market operating in the state without consumer protections, age verification, or tax revenue attached to it, rather than as an expansion of gambling that wouldn't otherwise exist.
Why it matters
Seven states currently generate legal online casino revenue in the U.S., with combined 2025 revenue across those markets reaching roughly $10.7 billion, and Massachusetts would become a notable new entrant if the bill eventually passes. The state faces the same headwinds that have slowed similar efforts in Virginia and Ohio — concerns about cannibalizing retail casino revenue, consumer-protection questions, and whether the state's regulatory apparatus can absorb a new licensing category. With the 2026 version already shelved via study order, a 2027 refiling means online casino legalization in Massachusetts remains a multi-year process rather than a near-term change, but it keeps the state in the mix as more legislatures weigh similar proposals.