If state Senator John Keenan could go back in time, he would take back his vote to legalize sports betting in the state. 

While he can’t change the past, Keenan is looking to change the law, and on Thursday explained to colleagues his bill (S 302) that places guardrails on sports betting to address the harms that can come with wagering.

“We unleashed an industry that now promotes betting on anything and everything imaginable and unimaginable all over the world, 24 hours a day, every single day,” Keenan said at a Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies hearing. "I want to publicly apologize to those who've lost the opportunity to sit and watch a game just for the enjoyment of the game, I want to apologize to those who find themselves in the dark spaces of betting addiction, and to those working through recovery and to their families and friends. I want to apologize to those who have lost loved ones to suicide because of gambling issues."

Sports betting has taken off in popularity since its launch, and is also fueling the state's coffers.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission reported $52.34 million in taxable sports wagering revenue was generated across the seven mobile/online sports wagering licensees and three in-person licensees for September. Since sports wagering began in person on January 31, 2023, the state has collected about $339.15 million in total taxes and assessments from licensed sports wagering operations.

Gamblers can suffer bankruptcy, divorce, and job loss, the Quincy Democrat said, and the effects can extend to gamblers’ friends and families.

His Bettor Health Act bill would prohibit sports betting advertised during televised sporting events and would ban in-play and proposition bets. Prop bets are wagers on specific occurrences or statistical outcomes within a game that do not directly affect the game's final score or result and have been at the center of recent scandals among college and professional athletes.

Major League Baseball player Luis Ortiz, 26, a starting pitcher for Cleveland, was arrested Sunday, November 9 at Logan Airport in East Boston over accusations that he notified bettors in advance when he would throw balls (as opposed to strikes) during the game to ensure their prop bets were successful, according to the Eastern District of New York U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Another Cleveland player, Emmanuel Clase, 27, a pitcher who is the team’s closer, was also arrested on charges he told bettors when he would throw a ball during a game. Both players were indicted on charges of wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery, and money laundering conspiracy.

Former Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker, now president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, has also called for a ban on prop bets in college sports. The association said enforcement staff have opened investigations into potential sports betting violations by about 30 current or former men’s basketball players and some of those cases have been resolved.

Keenan said Thursday that athletes getting involved in prop bets — including some who make millions of dollars a year in salary and bonuses from their team — shows how addictive gambling can be.

“Nobody is immune,” Keenan said.

Keenan’s bill would also require online sports betting companies to double their contributions to the Commonwealth's Public Health Trust Fund and would direct the state Gaming Commission to work with researchers to study how gambling addiction develops and how to come up with strategies to reduce harm from it.

The legislation also would raise the excise tax sports gaming operators owe the state from 20 percent of gross receipts on online and mobile wagering to 51 percent, Keenan said, the same level as states such as New York, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island.

Mark Gottlieb, executive director of the Public Health Advocacy Institute at Northeastern University, said he supports the bill.

“It is the single best example I’ve seen of state legislation to revisit the parameters of sports gambling in light of rapid changes we’ve seen in how these products are designed, marketed and delivered since H5164 became law in 2022,” Gottlieb said during the meeting. 

Sports betting “relentlessly” inundates people with targeted notifications, messages, and advertisements, he said.

“Since 2022, sports betting has been fundamentally transformed through incredible technology and the lack of effective guardrails into an extremely addictive product, largely targeting young people, especially boys and young men,” Gottlieb said.

While Keenan’s bill looks to place guardrails on gambling, committee members also heard from many in support of a pair of bills that would allow gaming operators with a Category 2 license to host up to 30 table games and an additional 250 slot machines.

Under current law, an operator with a Category 2 license can operate with no table games and up to 1,250 slot machines. Just one of these licenses has been awarded in the state; it went to Plainridge Park Casino, owned by Penn National Gaming, in 2014. The proposal comes from state Representatibe Jeffrey Roy (D-Franklin), who introduced H 496, and state Senator Rebecca Rausch (D-Needham), who presented S 308.

Roy told commissioners that Plainridge Park Casino is facing a “concerted challenge” from Rhode Island’s casino industry. He pointed out that two casinos are within 27 miles of Plainridge and that Rhode Island officials have admitted they have targeted Massachusetts gamblers.

The what he called "modest" changes he is proposing would protect the economic benefit Plainridge Park Casino brings to Massachusetts, he said.

“Given the intense competition fight over our southern border it is time to act to protect Massachusetts jobs and revenue,” Roy said.

Brian Noble, town administrator of Plainville, and other local leaders expressed support for the bill.

Noble said its passage would protect hundreds of jobs and tens of millions of dollars annually in state and local revenue. Also, it would help reinforce the long-term financial stability of Plainville, which he said is important because the casino’s revenue has contributed to local infrastructure and municipal services.

Committee members also heard testimony on H 480, co-sponsored by state representatives Michelle Badger (D-Plymouth) and Kathleen LaNatra (D-Kingston), which would allow qualified veterans’ organizations to apply for a limited gaming license to operate up to five on-site video gaming machines. Supporters said the bill would help veterans organizations bring in needed revenue while opponents raised concerns about how it could increase harm from gambling in the state.