Massachusetts Online Sports Betting Narrowed Down to 23 Operators

• 23 operators submitted scoping surveys for Massachusetts online sports betting licenses
• 15 online sports betting licenses will be up for grabs
• Three operators already have existing partnerships with casinos and will receive online licenses

The Massachusetts online sports betting landscape has been narrowed down to 23 potential sports betting operators.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission required all potential online sports betting operators to submit a scoping survey to the commission by close of the business day on Oct. 17. The commission reported that 29 sports betting operators submitted scoping surveys for sports betting licenses, 23 of which submitted surveys for online sports betting licenses.

Untethered Online Sports Betting Licenses in High Demand

The Commonwealth will allow up to 15 online sports betting licenses. Each of the three state casinos can partner with up to two operators, each of the two racinos can partner with one operator, and seven untethered online sports betting licenses will be awarded.

Here are the 23 operators that will be considered for Massachusetts online sports betting licenses:

• Bally Bet
• bet365
• Betfred
• BetMGM
• Betr
• BetRivers
• Betway
• BuddyBet
• Caesars Sportsbook
• Clutchbet
• DraftKings
• Easywin
• Fanatics
• FanDuel Sportsbook
• Fanlogic
• MaximBet
• Mohegan Digital
• Novibet
• Penn Sports Interactive (Barstool Sportsbook)
• PointsBet
• Underdog Sports Wagering
• Unibet
• WynnBet

The seven untethered licenses will be in high demand for the 20 operators that do not have partnerships with casinos. Untethered operators will not have to enter into any type of revenue sharing program with another entity.

There are three casinos in the state and all three have partnerships with online operators already.

• Plainridge Park Casino (Barstool Sportsbook Massachusetts)
• MGM Springfield (BetMGM Massachusetts)
• Encore Boston Harbor (WynnBET Massachusetts)

Raynham Park and Suffolk Downs have yet to announce any partnerships.

Massachusetts Sports Betting Hopefully by January, Online by March

Two weeks ago, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission approved a motion to launch retail sports betting by late January and online sports betting in the Commonwealth by early March.

The commissioners approved the motion by a vote of 4-0, with Commissioner Nakisha Skinner abstaining from the decision.

Both dates can potentially be pushed back if the Commission receives public input that would make the start date too difficult, or if the staff receives a larger than expected number of sports betting license applications.

The commissioners did note in their vote that public input affecting the launch dates could force the windows to move back. They also noted that high numbers of applicants for online sports betting could also force the online launch date back as well.

Sports betting applicants seeking one of the seven untethered online sports betting licenses will be judged on a scoring system that will take into account six separate categories:

• Financial Stability
• Economic Impact
• Diversity and Inclusion
• Information Technology Platform
• Responsible Gaming
• Prior Experience and Background

The commission must decide how scoring will be implemented into the application process, however. They will either be scored on a pass/fail basis, by numeric scoring, meets/exceeds expectations, or a combination of the methods.

The Gaming Commission staff suggest a combination of the methods, which would then necessitate further oral interviews or written responses to commission questions.