Massachusetts joins with NCAA, sports teams to tackle gambling among young people
By STEVE LeBLANC
Associated Press
BOSTON (AP) — Top Massachusetts officials joined with NCAA President and former Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker on Thursday to announce a new initiative aimed at tackling the public health harms associated with sports gambling among young people. Baker says those harms extend not just to young people making bets, but to student athletes coming under enormous pressure from bettors hoping to cash in on their individual performances. Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell says that because the state made sports betting legal in 2022, a bill signed by Baker, it is critical to create a public/private partnership like the Youth Sports Betting Safety Coalition she unveiled Thursday.