Massachusetts Sports Betting Dates Narrowed to January, March 2023

• The Massachusetts Gaming Commission agreed on two windows to launch retail, online sports betting
• The commission will shoot to launch retail sports betting in late January
• The commission will attempt to launch online sports betting by early March

We have Massachusetts sports betting start dates (sort of).

After nearly 12 hours of discussion over two days, 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.

Massachusetts Sports Betting Hopefully by January, Online by 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.

ICYMI: The Massachusetts Gaming Commission voted to shoot for a late January retail sports betting launch and an early March online sports betting launch.

We finally have a launch window for Massachusetts sports betting.

— RLinnehanXL (@RLinnehanXl) October 7, 2022

The decision to narrow down the start date windows stemmed from nearly 12 hours of discussion, spanning across two days of somewhat contentious meetings. Yesterday, Executive Director Karen Wells put forth an “aggressive” timeline for the Commonwealth’s sports betting launch, which suggested launching retail sports betting in January 2023 and online sports betting in February 2023.

“There is no way we can do this any earlier. No way,” Wells said at the meeting.

Discussion spilled over into today, as the commissioners reconvened at noon and discussed when sports betting could be launched in the state.

Commissioners Skinner and Eileen O’Brien shared their concerns over putting a timetable on sports betting and hesitated to suggest retail would be launched by the February Super Bowl, while Commissioners Brad Hill and Jordan Maynard both pushed for earlier start dates.

Several times during the day’s discussion Skinner suggested the commission should not center the launch of sports betting around sporting events, such as the Super Bowl or March Madness.

“I would like to have a timeline presented that is not taxing to staff and is not centered around sporting events,” Skinner said.

In the end, the Commission left themselves some wiggle room for a start date, while agreeing that a retail sports betting launch prior to the Super Bowl and an online sports betting launch prior to March Madness tournaments would be best.

Outside Factors May Affect Launch

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.