Massachusetts is rapidly moving towards legalization of sports betting in the state.
Earlier in August, it was reported that the Senators in Massachusetts are considering proposing the legalization of sports betting. The Bill might be moved for voting this fall as the state’s economy has suffered a lot due to COVID-19.
If the House Bill 4887 is endorsed by politicians sports betting products will gain fully legal status in the state.
However, several school bodies and universities have been concerned over betting in sporting events of colleges and schools. The educational institutions seriously want the collegiate sports betting to be excluded out of the Bill.
In furtherance of the same, Harvard University along with six other universities has joined the protests against legalization of collegiate sports betting.
These universities have written letters to various legislators to reconsider the Bill and to ensure that language of the Bill is revised so as to exclude any scope of legalizing sports betting in college events.
Gambling News reported that, a total of seven schools signed off under the letter sent on Friday, with Harvard University among the most prominent schools on the list. The Harvard Crimson, the university’s own media outlet, has mentioned all signees by name, and they included presidents and athletic directors of Boston College, Boston University, the College of the Holy Cross, Merrimack College, Northeastern University, the University of Massachusetts, and Harvard.
It is interesting to note that while House of Representatives are eagerly pushing the state of Massachusetts to legalize sports betting and join the club of 20 other states, the Senate has been reluctant to do so.
The Senate had earlier not approved the Bill and had sent it back to House of Representatives. It had noted that, “Based on our years of experience, each of us believes that such legislation will create unnecessary and unacceptable risks to student athletes, their campus peers, and the integrity and culture of colleges and universities in the Commonwealth”, reported Gambling News.