Massachusetts
State of Massachusetts begins to gauge sports betting appetite
Neil is a gambling industry veteran with over 15 years experience as a content writer, editor and speaker at events. He has a Masters degree in English Literature and Philosophy and has combined this analytical inquisitiveness with a passion for sports betting and casino gaming. Neil started his career with Bettingpro.com and helped build not only that site but various others such as LiveTennis.com, LiveDarts.com and numerous other sports informational sites, including GG.co.uk and RacingTips.com He then made the transition to the North American market, working both in the UK and in New Jersey to launch various sports betting and casino sites, including AmericanBettingExperts and NewAmericanCasinos. Working with regulators, Neil has helped to review sports betting sites and also test the regulated betting apps in a professional capacity. He now works almost exclusively in the US market and is one of the main reviewers and fact checkers on SportsLens gambling content. He also speaks at various gambling conferences including ICE, iGB Live and SBC Americas and has contributed to GamblingInsider, EGR Magazine and a number of others in a consulting capacity.
All posts by Neil RoartyUpdated9 hours ago on April 25, 2024
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (“MGC”) has issued a statement and released a ‘notice of intent form’, asking that sports betting operators provisionally interested in acquiring a license complete the form by the close of August 2022.
The notice of intent is not to be considered an application for a sports wagering license, and anyone that does not complete the form will not be banned from entering an application later down the line when the official application procedure begins.
The release of the form follows the legislature’s passing of the Governor’s signing of House Bill No. 5164 – An Act to Regulate Sports Wagering.
The form reads: “This form is being requested for informational purposes only and to aid the MGC in understanding potential interest in licenses for sports wagering. This notice of intent is not to be construed as an application or request for a temporary license and does not bind the MGC in any way.”
Who are they looking for?
The Notice of Intent has 10 questions, with business types listed including the following:
- Holds a gaming license as defined in section 2 of 23K
- Licensed by the MGC in accordance with c. 128A to conduct a live horse racing meeting
- Running horse racing licensee that conducted simulcast wagering as of 12/31/20
- Greyhound meeting licensee that conducted simulcast wagering as of 12/31/20
- Offers an interactive sports wagering platform through a mobile application or other digital-platform
- None of the above
The State also explores jurisdictions which each provisional operator has prior applied, and holds licenses and also asks for the type of business it will be looking to conduct in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
What’s the timeline for legal sports betting in MA?
Upon the final moment passing of the bill to legalize sports betting, the Commissioner Bradford Hill warned that getting sports betting right may take some time. He stated “If we are going to do this right, we need to take our time a little bit”.
As such, no timeline can be currently put on the progress of sports betting; unlike other States with which they hope for a launch before the NFL season gets underway in September. One would assume, as is normally the case, that MA will target the Super Bowl for launch given the seismic wagering that historically takes place for the US’ largest sporting event.
