What You Need To Know
- Governor Charlie Baker signed An Act to Regulate Sports Wagering (House Bill No. 5164) on August 10, 2022, legalizing sports betting in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
- The Massachusetts Gaming Commission has been tasked with overseeing the promulgation of the state’s sports wagering industry
- The full text of Chapter 23N can be found here: Mass. General Laws c.23N – Authorization and Regulation of Sports Wagering
- MGL Chapter 23N creates three categories of sports wagering licensees
- Category 1 for licensed casinos
- Category 2 for racetracks and/or simulcast centers
- Category 3 for online/mobile operators
Application Process
- The commission began the application process by releasing a scoping survey on October 7, 2022. Operators were required to fill out this survey as part of the application process
- Applications were due for Category 1 and Category 3 licenses on November 21, 2022
- The Commission voted to allow applications for Category 2 licenses to be submitted on a rolling basis
- 15 applications were submitted
- 3 Category 1 applications
- 6 Category 3 applications tethered to a Category 1 or 2 license
- 6 untethered Category 3 applications
Commission Review
- The MGC held meetings nearly every day in December 2022 and January 2023 as well as into February 2023 to publicly review those applications.
- Recordings of these meetings can be found here.
Licensees
Category 1 licensees
Category 3 tethered licensees
- BetMGM (MGM Springfield)
- Caesars Sportsbook (Encore Boston Harbor)
- Fanatics Betting & Gaming (Plainridge Park Casino)
- Penn Sports Interactive (Plainridge Park Casino)
- WynnBet (Encore Boston Harbor)
Category 3 untethered licensees
- Bally Bet
- Betr
- Betway
- DraftKings
- FanDuel
Note: Bally Bet and Betway have been awarded Category 3 licensees to conduct sports wagering, but those licensees are not yet in operation.
Timeline
