Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group have received a welcome boost after a motion to legalise gambling in their home state of Massachusetts was passed in the US.
FSG have their roots in Boston through their long-time ownership of the Boston Red Sox baseball team and will now have additional revenue streams to tap into after Massachusetts joined a list of more than 30 US states that have legalised betting on professional and college sports since the blanket ban on gambling was lifted by the US Supreme Court back in 2018.
State by state, sports betting has become legalised and with major markets such as New York already passing their own motions some time ago there was pressure to add Massachusetts to the list, something that opens up plenty of opportunities for the state's professional sporting teams; the Red Sox, Boston Celtics, New England Patriots and Boston Bruins among them.
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Speaking last month at a panel of the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States, Dave Friedman, executive vice president of legal and government affairs for the Boston Red Sox said that the team would be interested in tapping into the market if legislation was passed by opening up their own sportsbook close by Fenway Park, the home stadium of the Red Sox.
"It depends on what the legislature lets us do," Friedman said. “If that’s an opportunity, then I think we’d be excited to set up a sportsbook. There are a couple of properties next to the ballpark that we’d look at."
Since the betting ban was lifted in 2018 there has been more than $141bn wagered in the US on sport, with states that had legalised the industry bringing in a combined $1.5bn in state taxes. By joining the other 30 states, Massachusetts is expected to achieve more than $35m per year in tax revenues.
For FSG it opens up plenty of opportunity on both sides of the Atlantic.
When Todd Boehly took over Chelsea during the summer one of the areas he wanted to focus on to drive revenues forward was the opening up of the sports betting market in the US. For FSG, having one of the most popular football teams in the US in Liverpool as part of their stable presents some opportunity for new revenue streams now the betting market in their home state has opened up.
For the Red Sox, while there are very direct benefits to the legalisation of the betting industry, providing FSG with more commercial avenues once the market - the 36th - fully adopts the legislation.
Nobody under the age of 21 will be able to place a bet while up to seven licenses for online operators will be allowed. Funds for betting will also be linked to debit cards and not credit cards.
The hope from those who pushed for the legislation to be passed is that the market will be open in time for the NFL regular season that begins in early September.
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