US gambling industry needs guardrails, says top Massachusetts regulator

The US gambling industry is turning into a “highway without speed limits,” says Jordan Maynard, chair of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. As the gambling boom keeps gaining momentum across the country, Maynard is calling on lawmakers in Washington to step in.

In a conversation with The Guardian, he urged Congress to consider nationwide rules on how betting companies advertise, noting that operators have spent years pushing back against any kind of federal oversight.

MGC Chair Jordan Maynard leads the commission into the discussion on the prediction markets. Said the discussion is not to generate "soundbites" … also said the safest way to bet on sports in the commonwealth is through its licensed sports betting operators.

— RLinnehanSR (@RLinnehanSR) May 22, 2025

He also pointed out that nationwide exclusion lists, meant to block people struggling with addiction from betting anywhere in the US, are “ripe for a federal conversation.” Right now, those lists are handled at the state level and are often easy to get around just by crossing a border.

Maynard stepped into the Massachusetts Gaming Commission in August 2022, the same month sports betting was legalized in the state. He took over as interim chair the following spring and was officially appointed to the role in the fall.

Since then, his relationship with gambling operators has had its tense moments.

He said: “When I think about the industry right now, I see a highway without speed limits, cars without seatbelt dingers.

“Regulators are who put the seatbelt dingers in. I don’t think the car manufacturers just woke up one day and decided to annoy whoever’s driving the car until they put their seatbelt on.”

“There is a [need to be] regulated, and there is a regulator.”

He added: “And so I think that’s the perfect place for a regulator to be: to come in and say, you know, we’re not going to prevent every crash that could happen, right?

“But what we’re going to do is make sure that people are educated in what they’re doing; that they’re trained up to a certain standard before they ever do it; make sure that those who seek to benefit economically from this industry are held to high standards.”

The industry’s growth has been rapid, with sports betting now legal in 37 states, and it hasn’t come without resistance to oversight. Legal operators have pushed back hard against many proposed regulations. While their lobbyists argue the industry is already heavily regulated, they’ve been quick to dismiss federal involvement and have often fought against new rules at the state level.

At the same time, online gambling companies have spent years building up their user bases and finding ways to squeeze more revenue out of those users, all while the market keeps expanding at full speed.

“I do want to construct a partnership,” Maynard said about working with the industry. “But there is a [need to be] regulated, and there is a regulator.”

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