The official launch of sports betting in Massachusetts will be the last possible day that regulators reserved for themselves.
Members of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) met again on Thursday and passed regulations that allowed them to firm up the timeline for the start of in-person sports wagering at the state’s casinos.
MGC Executive Director Karen Wells told commissioners the testing of the sports-betting kiosks technology can now begin. If everything is in order, staff could come back to the commission on January 27 and have the regulators vote on the awarding of operations certificates.
Meeting expectations
Wells said staff is proposing the three casinos then conduct a "soft launch" on January 30 that would involve real-life wagering with employees and guests.
The official launch of legal sports betting at the facilities would then come on January 31, which would be in line with the MGC's previously communicated projection of late January. It would also give regulators the time they need to carry out their work.
While there was some discussion about adjusting the timeline slightly, as one commissioner said they were unavailable near the end of January, the MGC decided to stick to what it had previously decided.
“That's where this comes from,” Wells said. “There had been a public expectation by the end of January.”
So the MGC has approved the retail sports betting license for PPC with a few unique conditions, including full cooperation with an investigation into Barstool Sports in connection with the casino's planned branding for its sportsbook. https://t.co/dOmeW735FR
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) December 20, 2022
The schedule outlined on Thursday follows the MGC giving approvals earlier this month to sports betting at the state’s three commercial casinos.
Those three facilities — Encore Boston Harbor, MGM Springfield, and Plainridge Park Casino — will be the first place where Massachusetts residents will be able to wager on sports legally until statewide mobile betting begins, which the MGC hopes will be in early March.
There could be as many as 15 online sports betting sites in the state when all is said in done, in addition to wagering at the casinos and two racetracks.
“More information on a universal launch for retail wagering, followed by online wagering, will be released as it becomes available,” the MGC noted in a press release earlier this week.
