With the launch date of January 31 fast approaching, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) agreed to seven proposed sports wagering regulations and discussed a few more. To complete the process on time, the commission will file the regulations with the Secretary of State by January 20.
The new regulations covered, among others: application fees, license fees, suitability determination, temporary licensing, voluntary self-exclusion and conditions for licensing.
The MGC also gave preliminary approvals to five more tethered sportsbooks: Barstool Sportsbook (Plainridge Park), BetMGM (MGM Springfield), Caesars Sportsbook (Encore Boston Harbor), Fanatics (Plainridge Park), and WynnBET (Encore Boston Harbor).
The agency withheld decisions on allowing wagers on the Olympics and some lesser-known sports like chess, cornhole, and esports. Commissioners wanted more time to discuss those events and the integrity standards and procedures of their governing bodies. The MGC had concerns betting on games that required judges, as in the Olympics. A decision expects to be finalized prior to the March debut of mobile betting.
Wagering on league drafts will be allowed, as well as wagering on subjective awards like the NFL MVP. Bettors can wager on entertainment awards shows like the Oscars.
The MGC also passed inspections for the sportsbooks inside the casinos. Encore has 118 kiosks and eight point-of-sale terminals. Plainridge Park has 20 kiosks and six point-of-sale terminals, and MGM Springfield has eight kiosks and eight point-of-sale terminals.
Raynham Park, the former dog track, announced a partnership with Caesars Sportsbook to open a 60,000-square-foot retail sportsbook later this year, with 30,000 square feet devoted to gambling. The rest will feature two restaurants, several bars, private function rooms and a capacity for 2,000 on the 13-acre plot of land they bought next to the old greyhound track. When completed, it will be the largest sportsbook in the country.
The venue, which hosts simulcasting, also axed the mobile sports betting deal with bet365, a spokesperson told Sports Handle.
Now mostly weeds, the dog track closed after a 2008 ballot initiative made greyhound racing illegal in Massachusetts.
“Raynham Park is in an excellent location in southeast Massachusetts and will be one of just a few retail sports betting locations in the Commonwealth,” Eric Hession, president of Caesars Digital, said. “It’s great to partner with the Carney family, which has a long history in the community and an exciting vision for a tremendous sports entertainment and pari-mutuel simulcasting facility.”
Last fall, the Carneys announced through a family spokesperson they would build a “60,000 square-foot sportsbook that will include more than 30,000 square feet of gaming space.”
The Players’ Association, a collective that includes representatives from the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and Major League Soccer players associations, is also asking the MGC to include regulatory language outlining safety measures for professional athletes and their families.
“There’s always a thought that the leagues or the teams are best suited to handle some of these issues, for example, when it comes to safety. I think we’re in a unique position to explain that oftentimes they actually are not and need a gentle or forceful nudge from government bodies,” said David Foster, deputy general counsel to the National Basketball Players Association.
Members of the MGC seemed receptive, but were not entirely sure they had the power to do what was being asked of them, or that they were the best ones to tackle the problem.
Commission General Counsel Todd Grossman told State House News Service he would have to take a “close look” at the issue and noted that while the sports betting law has language allowing voluntary self-exclusion, he’d “have to look at it a little bit more closely to see whether it addresses involuntary exclusion” in the same way the state’s casino gaming law does.
In related news, Deborah Goldberg, the state’s newly reelected treasurer, is somewhat skeptical about the potential revenue impact, according to WCVB-TV.
In an interview for Sunday’s episode of On The Record, Goldberg predicted revenue from sports betting could be as high as $50 million per year. She compared the figure to the state lottery, which has brought in $30 billion since its debut in 1972.
“We have to remember something: the lottery is in my office,” she told On the Record. “One hundred percent of the ‘profits’ of the lottery are distributed to every single community throughout the state to benefit those who live there. Sports betting is a for-profit business. They’re in it to make money, so the tax revenue that they’ll pay is merely a drop in the bucket to what they will ultimately make.”
