One of the gaming industry’s foremost research firms recently shared doubts regarding the likelihood of success for Massachusetts House Bill 4431, which would legalize real-money online casinos and also ban sweepstakes casinos.
Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, in its weekly newsletter, The EKG Line, wrote that “the timing is less than ideal” for HB4431 — in large part due to its inherent tie to Senate Bill 302, which would make significant amendments to existing sports betting law in Massachusetts. The state legislature is considering both HB4431 and SB302 at the same time.
“The timing is less than ideal for iCasino proponents,” read a section of The EKG Line. “The case for iCasino legalization was already tricky given non-unanimous industry support, but it was made undeniably harder by S 302’s sponsor Senator John Keenan, whose opening remarks included an explicit ‘apology’ for his role in legalizing OSB, which he now ‘deeply regrets.’”
‘Particularly damaging to the nascent momentum’ of Massachusetts iGaming
The push toward legalization of real-money iGaming has faced dramatic resistance in recent years, namely from the retail casino and responsible gambling crowds.
However, EKG now anticipates more of these future online casino efforts may be tied to online sports betting overhauls.
And that, EKG believes, can only hurt any remaining iGaming momentum.
“Overall, the hearing [for SB302] felt like an eerie preview of a dynamic we could see repeating itself in multiple states next year. Specifically, states that are likely to consider both iCasino expansion and OSB amendment bills,” EKG wrote. “First to mind are New York, Maryland, Ohio, and Virginia, where lawmakers and/or regulators have publicly called for additional OSB oversight.
“Our online casino forecast reflects a limited momentum environment already — Maryland is one of just four states that we view as having 5%+ odds to launch before 2030— but this additional headwind could thus be particularly damaging to the nascent momentum in the Old Line State.”
Bad news for HB4431 is good news for sweeps casinos
This “additional headwind,” as EKG put it, is obviously a good thing for sweeps operators in Massachusetts, which was the second state in 2025 to introduce a bill that would legalize real-money online casinos while also banning sweeps casinos.
The other was Ohio, where House Bill 298 was introduced in May but hasn’t budged since then. And it’s not expected to budge before the legislative session ends at the end of this month. The main crux of HB298 is to legalize real-money online casinos. The sweeps ban component is merely a secondary component — albeit a very impactful component for a certain sector.
And the notion of that legalization, of that expansion of gambling, was met with serious resistance in Ohio — chiefly from Gov. Mike DeWine, who told reporters over the summer “I’m not for it” when it came to online casinos.
“Basically to put a casino in everybody’s hands, 24-7, I think is probably not a great idea and I think it will cause more pain and suffering in regards to addiction as far as gaming addiction,” DeWine said. “So I’m just not for it.”
In October, House Speaker Matt Huffman signaled the end of HB298 when he told reporters he didn’t expect any more movement on the bill in 2025.
“At some point, there is a saturation point,” said Huffman, who added he doesn’t think Ohio will see gambling expansion of any kind this year. “There’s a group of people who don’t gamble. There’s a group of people who do. Maybe some people participate in different ways.”
Across the country, Ohio is far from the only state pushing back against the growth of online casinos. Pushback from the retail casino and responsible gambling crowds have largely stalled the national iGaming movement. Since Connecticut rolled out online casinos in late 2021, no state has introduced a comparable launch. (Rhode Island introduced iGaming in 2024, but it did so with a single operator, Bally Bet Casino.)
Those same crowds were present in November at Massachusetts HB4431’s initial hearing before the Joint Economic Development and Emerging Technologies Committee, as well. Their testimony echoed the same cannibalization and player safety concerns.
Eileen McAnneny, who handles government relations for Encore Boston Harbor, Massachusetts’ largest casino, wrote in her written testimony that the bill could cost the state approximately 1,800 jobs.
She called HB4431 a “bad bet” for Massachusetts.
Recent attempts to legalize online casinos have fallen short in a number of states, including New Hampshire, New York, Virginia, Wyoming, Maryland, Arkansas, Illinois, and Indiana.
Standalone bills targeting sweeps casinos have been more successful in 2025, with California, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Montana passing and signing such bills into law. (Connecticut’s bill also banned lottery couriers.)
Will a MA sweeps ban be on the table again in 2026?
Although HB4431 didn’t advance before the Massachusetts Legislature closed its 2025 session in November, the state runs on a two-year legislative cycle, so HB4431 activity pauses until lawmakers reconvene on Jan. 7, 2026, at which point they can choose to pick it back up.
Rep. Carole A. Fiola, the chair of the Joint Economic Development and Emerging Technologies Committee, emphasized that the hearing was merely a starting point rather than a conclusion.
“I know as you alluded to in the very beginning of your presentation, this is the beginning of a conversation that the committee is going to engage in,” Fiola told Rep. David K. Muradian, the bill author. “So by having a brief testimony [today] doesn’t mean this conversation is over, certainly.”
Sean Ostrow, the managing director of the Social Gaming Leadership Alliance, also testified at the HB4431 hearing. He stressed that a regulated and taxed sweeps casino industry could bring in an additional $30 million in revenue to Massachusetts.
“The SGLA stands behind strong regulation and consumer protection, responsible social gameplay for adults only, fair taxation, and enabling economic development here in the Commonwealth,” Ostrow said. “We look forward to working with members of this committee to achieve these mutually beneficial outcomes.”
