bet365 Interest Leads Massachusetts to Reopen its Sports Betting Licensing Process

• The Massachusetts Gaming Commission voted to reopen its sports betting licensing process
• The commission made the decision after bet365 expressed interest in entering the state sports betting market
• The commonwealth currently has several opening sports betting licenses

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Two years ago to the month Massachusetts launched its online sports betting market.

And now it seems that they’ll consider allowing additional sports betting operators into one of the most successful sports betting markets in the country.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission unanimously approved reopening its sports betting licensing process after receiving interest from bet365 in applying for one of its available online sports betting licenses.

Let’s See What’s Out There

Justin Stempeck, chief deputy general counsel of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, reported sports betting operator bet365 has contacted the commission regarding interest in applying for one of its available untethered category 3 online sports betting licenses.

Currently, FanDuel, DraftKings, and BallyBet all hold these types of licenses in the commonwealth, which allows the operator to offer online sports betting without being tethered to a brick-and-mortar casino. Massachusetts sports betting law allows for eight untethered category 3 licenses to be operational, meaning four licenses are currently unoccupied.

The commission unanimously voted to reopen the sports betting licensing process to see if any sports betting operators, not just bet365, are interested in the available licenses in the state.

Massachusetts has the following available licenses:

• Category 1 retail sports betting at a casino: One available
• Category 2 retail sports betting at a racing facility: Three available
• Category 3 online sports betting tethered to a racing facility: Three available
• Category 3 online sports betting tethered to a casino: Two available
• Category 3 online sports betting untethered: Four available

Commission Chair Jordan Maynard said it makes sense to reopen the licensing process. Bet365 wants to do business in the commonwealth, he said, so the commission should examine the potential benefit to the state of additional awarded licenses.

“If someone wants to enter the legal market of Massachusetts at a time when these so called prediction markets are offering products we would never allow, that does hearten me,” he said.

A category 3 sports betting license requires a $200,000 application fee. If a license is awarded, an operator much pay a $5 million licensing fee for a five-year license.

Examining Massachusetts Market

Commissioner Eileen O’Brien suggested an economic analysis of the current Massachusetts sports betting market be completed as part of the reopened licensing process. Going through the entire licensing process without knowing if the market can support an additional operator would be like “putting the cart before the horse,” she said.

Commissioner Paul Brodeur agreed, saying he was curious as to why bet365 was interested in entering a market that seems to be “pretty saturated.”

“I’m very curious as to why anyone would want to enter a market that seems like it’s pretty saturated, but it’s something I would think about moving forward, but it’s largely a business decision and would certainly want to see the benefits to the commonwealth. Again, I kind of default to the free market, I’m happy to entertain additional proposals while there are licenses available I suppose,” he said.

These are the exact questions the Massachusetts Gaming Commission would ask of any potential applicants, Commissioner Brad Hill noted.

Commissioner Nakisha Skinner confirmed that by opening up the licensing process, the MGC could accept potential applications for all of its unfilled licenses, not just the untethered category 3 online sports betting variety.

“I would not to go through this lengthy process of trying to ascertain if another licensee is right for Massachusetts, before we understand how many are actually interested in entering the market. It could be just bet365 or we could have others come out of the woodwork. I think we need to back it up a little bit, see who is interested, and go from there,” she said

Massachusetts Sports Bettors Flock to Winter Olympics

In other news, the commissioners were presented with sports betting data from the recent Winter Olympic games. Tom Lam, Compliance and Operations for the MGC, reported more than 123,000 customers placed more than 800,000 bets on the February Olympic games.

Sports betting operators generated more than $23 million in gross handle and $1.1 million in gross gaming revenue, which generated more than $265,000 in sports betting tax revenues for the commonwealth.

Sports betting customers flocked to men and women’s hockey, with nearly 91% of all sports bets being placed on Olympic hockey matchups. Curling, interestingly, was the second most popular event, with 5.38% of all bets placed on the games.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission evaluated sports betting data for the recent Winter Olympics.

More than 123,000 customers placed more than 800,000 bets on the games. Operators generated more than $23 million in handle and $1.1 million in gross gaming revenue. pic.twitter.com/zBre7pp1hz

— RLinnehanSR (@RLinnehanSR) April 9, 2026