Massachusetts Gaming Commission Releases 2023 Annual Report

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission recently released its 2023 Annual Report, detailing the Commission’s operations from July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023. The 2023 Annual Report is the MGC’s twelfth since its formation.

The report covers a wide range of topics from financial updates, recommendations for legislative action, results on licensee workforce and supplier diversity goals, casino property and project summaries, division reports, and is the first report to feature details about legalized sports wagering, which began at the Commonwealth’s casinos in January 2023 and on mobile platforms in March 2023.

“The Commission’s Annual Report is an important publication detailing all that was accomplished over the last fiscal year on behalf of the residents of the Commonwealth,” said Interim Commission Chair Jordan Maynard. “The work to regulate and oversee the casino, horse racing, and sports wagering industries in the Commonwealth takes a dedicated team committed to ensuring those industries prioritize consumers and focus on responsible gaming. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission is pleased to present this report, which details our commitment to transparent policy making, nation-leading research, and industry standard innovations.”

FY23 saw an expansion of the Commission’s regulatory responsibilities with the signing of An Act to Regulate Sports Wagering. Within six months of the bill being signed into law, the Commission launched in-person sports wagering followed by mobile sports betting just over a month later. In all, the Commission granted 11 Certificates of Operations to sports wagering operators, which generated $228.7 million in adjusted gross sports wagering revenue across the fiscal year, accounting for more than $44 million in sports wagering tax revenue.

Gross Gaming Revenue reached $1.2 billion in FY23, generating $320.7 million in tax revenue for the Commonwealth.

The Community Mitigation Fund, which provides grant funding to eligible municipalities and government entities located in the vicinity of Massachusetts casinos to advance needs in transportation, community planning, workforce development, and public safety initiatives, awarded approximately $10.2 million in grants in FY23. Additionally, the MGC’s Investigations and Enforcement Bureau helped intercept $3.6 million from unpaid taxes and child support payments.

The Commission is committed to promoting responsible gaming and providing tools for patrons to manage their play in the form of programs like the Voluntary Self-Exclusion (VSE) Program and PlayMyWay. During FY23, 1,430 individuals enrolled in the VSE program, which allows people to voluntarily exclude themselves from casino gambling and/or sports wagering for a predetermined amount of time. More than 42,000 people also enrolled in PlayMyWay, a free budgeting tool that lets players track their play and receive automatic notifications as they get closer to their pre-set budget amount. Massachusetts is the first and only state to offer a program like PlayMyWay, which is available at all three Massachusetts casinos.

The Commission has also supported a wide range of gambling-related research projects, of which six were released in FY23, with more than 60 reports published since 2014. This robust library of research is available for public review here.

The FY23 Annual Report is the final report under the leadership of Chair Cathy Judd-Stein, who retired from the Commission in March 2024.

SOURCE: Massachusetts Gaming Commission.