MA Sports Betting Update: Seven Sportsbooks To Launch in March
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The Feb. 23 Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) meeting proved very important as several developments came regarding the future of Massachusetts sports betting.
PointsBet Pulls Out Of Massachusetts
PointsBet has informed the MGC that they will not be launching PointsBet in Massachusetts at all. This comes after it was revealed earlier this week that they would not be launching in March.
“They are withdrawing from Massachusetts,” MGC Executive Director Karen Wells told the commission.
PointsBet explained its decision via a spokesperson: “You will have seen the outcome from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission meeting today where PointsBet made the decision to withdraw its application at this time. We have chosen this path to emphasize our continued focus on our 14 live states of the US (plus Ontario) and how we can best optimize those markets which provide an immense TAM for us to go after.”
Prepped for some puck 🏒 pic.twitter.com/CXI8dbkqJl
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) February 23, 2023
Seven Sportsbooks Launching March 10
11 entities initially received approval to move forward and apply for temporary licensure, but only nine of them have actually received the temporary license. To gain a temporary license, the operator had to pay the $1 million license fee and submit an additional form.
The nine operators currently with a temporary license are:
- Bally’s Interactive
- Betr
- DraftKings
- FanDuel
- Caesars
- WynnBet
- BetMGM
- Fanatics
- Penn Sports Interactive
Of these, only seven of them plan to launch in March of this year.
“Both Bally’s Interactive and Fanatics are not planning to launch until May of 2023,” Wells told her fellow commissioners.
Wells initially proposed a March 10 launch date for sportsbooks at a Feb 9 MGC meeting. She followed up on this proposal on Thursday saying that “things seem to be going well so we are very confident in that ability to allow the licensees to launch on the 10th that are ready to go.”
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) February 23, 2023
Betway To Launch In 2024
Of the initial 11 approvals, two are without temporary licenses: PointsBet and DGC (Betway). As previously mentioned, PointsBet will not be launching at all. Betway will not be launching “for about a year” according to Wells, though the commission wants to see them get their temporary license now.
“It has some practical implications if you wait,” MGC Chair Cathy Judd-Stein told Gary Ehrlich, legal representation for DGC.
Ehrlich explained that after Betway applied for approval, they were then acquired by Super Group, which had to file its own paperwork with the MGC. Director of Investigations and Enforcement Bureau Loretta Lillios confirmed that they received all the required submissions from Super Group to make them suitable for licensing.
“I think it’s more contingent on when you’re comfortable with our new ownership and approve us for a temporary license,” Ehrlich said to the commission. “As soon as you said we’re eligible for a temporary license we would ask for one and pay the one million dollars.”
Wells suggested granting the temporary license to Betway in a meeting next week. All parties seemed pleased with this suggestion.