From
here:
Discounts
are allowed on liquor in MA (plenty of liquor stores feature sales) but they have to start at the beginning of the week. Prices can't drop within a calendar week or within a day (hence, no "happy hours") but prices
can increase.
There are tons of other MA blue laws relating to alcohol on top of the "Happy Hour Law" (e.g., no alcohol can be sold by any establishment at a "loss," no one company can operate more than a set number of liquor stores, etc.). The law that prevents Costco from checking membership at their liquor section is also separate from the "Happy Hour Law."
All of these laws have the effect of making alcohol more expensive in the state, and accordingly they are generally
supported by established liquor license holders. Bars and restaurants don't want to offer happy hours (it cuts into their margins) so they generally support the ban and lobby against its repeal. Happy hours are a great example of a "prisoner's dilemma": bars and restaurants are all better off if they don't offer happy hours, but in a competitive world they do offer them just because they know that if they don't they'll be undercut by their competition. By banning happy hours bars don't need to worry about this competition, and they're all better off; it's the consumer who suffers.
There's some interesting stuff going on with "Total Wine," a national liquor chain who's coming into Massachusetts, challenging the incumbents, filing lawsuits, and shaking stuff up. For example, they won a decision regarding "minimum pricing," as the Commonwealth penalized them for selling liquor below their wholesale price. They claimed that quantity discounts they receive should factored into their wholesale price, lowering it and allowing them to sell liquor cheaper, and a judge agreed. As they continue to aggressively expand they're going to run into more legal hurdles, and I hope they keep plowing through and challenging the laws.
And also interestingly, despite all the laws put in place to make alcohol more expensive, Massachusetts actually has among the
lowest alcohol excise taxes in the nation (the taxes the Commonwealth actually charges on liquor sold). Plenty of states where liquor is far cheaper and far more available charge way higher taxes on it. The difference is that our laws allow license holders to charge more, but only a very small cut actually goes to the Commonwealth. Other states take way bigger cuts for their treasuries, but don't enact policies to enable license holders to charge as high markups.