Sports betting bills complicate horse racing extension
Photo | Courtesy of Sturbridge Agricultural and Equestrian Center, via presentation to Sturbridge Selectmen
The proposed Sturbridge Agricultural and Equestrian Center, which would have included horse racing, was voted down by the town.
Applying an 11th-hour bandage to keep simulcast centers and local horse races running -- or in at least one case to revive them after they briefly became illegal -- has evolved into something of an annual tradition on Beacon Hill, but this time around the scenario could be even more complicated than usual.
With the July 31 expiration of simulcast and horse racing laws once again approaching, lawmakers must now weigh a temporary extension to the practices against the chances of finalizing a sports betting legalization package that could permanently impact the two fields.
For the first time ever, both the House and the Senate approved legislation this session that would legalize wagering on sports in Massachusetts, though the branches remain far apart on details and it remains unclear when or even if a conference committee will produce a compromise bill.
"I know some folks have been trying to figure out what we're doing with racing. For those in the public that don't know, it's actually tied to sports betting," Rep. Tackey Chan, co-chair of the Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee, said Tuesday. "There are some legal issues that need to be synced up."
The panel on Tuesday sent the House Ways and Means Committee a bill (H 4817) that would keep authorization in place for simulcasting and horse racing until July 31, 2023, one year beyond its impending end.
"That conversation is not over," Chan said.
Chan's committee has had since January 2021 to work through a handful of bills dealing with simulcast centers that take bets on races in other states as well as standardbred or harness horse racing at Plainridge Park Casino -- the only horse races left in Massachusetts following the demise of thoroughbred racing -- but so far has not decided their fate.
Lawmakers already extended the deadline until Wednesday, June 1 for five racing-related bills, and Chan said during a committee hearing on Tuesday that the panel would push that date back to July 31, which in addition to the expiration of simulcast and horse racing laws is the final day for formal lawmaking business in the 2021-2022 cycle.
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