For decades, Massachusetts tolerated various forms of illegal gaming. Now that the state is openly regulating, taxing and promoting casino gaming and sports wagering, regulators here have agreed to join calls on the U.S. Justice Department to crack down on illegal operators that are out there.

Members of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission on Tuesday agreed to send a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland that is similar to one that regulators from Colorado, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey and Illinois sent on April 28.

Officials in those states asked the department to protect Americans from illegal offshore sportsbooks and online casinos that they said do not invest in "responsible gaming" programs, contribute to the loss of state tax revenue, do not impose age verification requirements to protect minors, and lack controls to prevent money laundering and guarantee fair payouts to customers. The state gaming regulators said they also want to "ensure the immense amount of money generated by these bad actors is not used to bankroll other illegal activities such as human trafficking and the drug trade."

"The many significant threats posed by offshore illegal gambling cannot be addressed by states alone and, therefore, require heightened federal attention and engagement," regulators from the seven states wrote. "We strongly encourage the Department of Justice to prioritize investigation and prosecution of these offshore sites, and stand ready to provide any assistance that we can as state gaming regulators."

Massachusetts Gaming Commission members spent time at Tuesday's meeting going over edits to their own letter that they plan to send to Garland.

Commission chair Cathy Judd-Stein cited the panel's work on consumer protections and advertising regulations and said the legal gaming market here was competing with the illegal market and also working to "put it out of business."

Commissioner Nakisha Skinner asked the commission whether it had knowledge of current federal government efforts regarding illegal gaming, and Judd-Stein said they did not.

https://www.bizjournals.com/boston/news/2023/05/30/mass-regulators-offshore-gambling-doj.html