Massachusetts residents soon won't have to travel far to wager on their hometown teams.
Mass. Governor Charlie Baker filed a bill Thursday to legalize sports betting in the Bay State.
If passed, the legislation would allow the Mass. Gaming Commission to issue sports wagering licenses to Category 1 resort casinos (MGM Springfield and Encore Boston Harbor in Everett) and Category 2 casinos (Plainridge Park Casino).
Those licenses would allow local casinos to operate onsite sports wagering lounges, similar to those already up and running in Delaware, New Jersey and Rhode Island. Casinos and other companies like DraftKings -- which is headquartered in Boston -- also would be allowed to run online sports betting operations if they hold licenses and gain approval from the Gaming Commission.
"Expanding Massachusetts' developing gaming industry to include wagering on professional sports is an opportunity for Massachusetts to invest in local aid while remaining competitive with many other states pursuing similar regulations," Baker said in a statement Thursday, via NBC 10 Boston.
There's a fiscal benefit to the state legalizing sports gambling, of course. According to NBC 10 Boston's Perry Russom, revenue from in-person sports betting would be taxed at 10 percent, while online betting and daily fantasy sports revenue each would be taxed at 12.5 percent.
Baker's bill still needs to pass in court, but it sounds like Massachusetts will become the second New England state after Rhode Island to legalize sports betting.
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