Now that Gov. Charlie Baker has signed the legislation and given his blessing to sports betting, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) has the task of getting it all together.
Will all qualified Massachusetts gaming entities go live on the same day? Will retail launch ahead of mobile or vice versa? Should existing casinos and parimutuel facilities get preference?
The MGC isn’t providing any answers just yet, after beginning its deliberation during a meeting August 11, according to Sports Handle.
The discussion continued August 18 with participants from the five retail locations : Encore-Boston Harbor (WynnBET), MGM-Springfield (BetMGM), Plainridge Park (Barstool Sportsbook), and the former race tracks at Raynham Park and Suffolk Downs. Each will be allowed to operate one brick-and-mortar sportsbook. The casinos can also add two online platforms ,with the tracks allowed one each.
On the surface, each of the five could be ready before any future stand-alone. But the MGC has not committed to that timetable or any other for that matter. The law permits seven stand-alone online licenses and it seems logical that DraftKings and FanDuel will grab two.
“My inclination is to do this simultaneously,” Commission Chair Cathy Judd-Stein said, “rather than sequential.”
But Judd-Stein is not the last word. Executive Director Karen Wells did not have an answer either.
Wells has a list of 225 potential regulations and the need for additional staff for approvals. The agency has yet to decide what the application will look like.
Much depends on how many applications are filed. If it’s seven or less, it could move fast. More than seven, the time adds up.
There is no mandated go-live date in the new law.
