The AG on offense
The Massachusetts House and Senate are famously slow on the draw, taking months, sometimes years to advance legislation. But Attorney General Maura Healey is a woman in a hurry — particularly when it comes to using her authority to scrutinize industries she happens to oppose.
Last week, for example, the AG finalized regulations that ban the sale of electronic cigarettes to consumers under 18. Perhaps that move will prove to be in the interest of public health (though the jury is still out, scientifically). But shouldn’t the Legislature and the governor have had a say in imposing that level of restriction?
Now Healey is eyeing fantasy sports — specifically, wagering on fantasy sports. While operators of such websites as DraftKings.com insist that their businesses operate within the bounds of the law, Healey, an opponent of casino gambling, clearly isn’t certain.
The AG said last week she is “reviewing” the legality of DraftKings, which allows users to participate in fantasy sports contests on a daily or weekly basis and to win cash prizes when the teams they assemble perform better than the rest. As the NFL season gets underway Boston-based DraftKings and its competitors are in the midst of a massive advertising blitz.
Healey’s team points out that her review does not represent an official law enforcement investigation. She is merely gathering information about how the industry operates before she’d consider any further steps.
But expressed publicly, Healey’s “review” alone sends a message to the industry: She’s watching. And as our colleague Bob McGovern pointed out last week, because Massachusetts currently has no laws in place restricting the websites, whatever opinion Healey offers could determine whether they continue operating in Massachusetts — or whether they simply concentrate on the 44 other states that are content to just let the players play.
For the record, it’s not as if the Legislature has never contemplated these matters. On the e-cig issue, Healey steamrolled over a bill (with the approval of its sponsor) that would have achieved the same goal. Meanwhile a bill filed by Sen. Michael Rush (D-West Roxbury) would explicitly authorize wagering on-line on fantasy sports in Massachusetts.
It might serve Healey well, as part of her review, to consult members of the Legislature about how they plan to proceed.