A new bill in Massachusetts would impose major regulations on the state’s booming new sports betting industry. Dubbed the “Bettor Health Act,” it targets practices that public health advocates say fuel gambling addictions. 

The legislation would ban so-called prop betting, prohibit sports betting advertising during sports broadcasts, require companies to double their contributions to a state fund that supports addiction treatment services, increase the corporate revenue tax on sports betting companies, limit the amount of money a person can bet each day without being subject to an “affordability check,” and require operators to provide more gambling data to the state. 

Keenan, a Quincy Democrat who filed the bill alongside state Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa and state Sen. Patricia Jehlen, said that alarm bells started to go off for him soon after online sports betting was legalied in Massachusetts two years ago. 

People immediately complained about the prevalence of sports betting ads. Keenan noticed that a lot of these ads included “misleading” promotions where, for example, bettors were offered hundreds of dollars in credits for only betting $5 of their own money. Many bettors did not realize the caveats associated with these promotions, he said.