The rules for how horse racing tracks can apply for sports betting were recently updated by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC). That group unanimously voted to accept sports betting applications on a rolling basis from those operators, as opposed to casinos and online operators, who have a hard deadline for their applications.
The original deadline for racetracks was November 21.
The news was welcomed by representatives for both Raynham Park and Sterling Suffolk Racecourse. Both tracks filed the initial paperwork, but told regulators that they needed more time to find a sportsbook partner and locate physical locations.
Attorney Steve Eichel, who represents Raynham Park, told MassLive that
Raynham Park was “within a couple of weeks, hopefully, or less” from partnering with a sportsbook.
“We are negotiating term sheets and trying to finalize those negotiations with a couple of potential, I should say several potential operators,” Eichel said.
Attorney Bruce Barnett, who represents Sterling Suffolk Racecourse, told MassLive that his client was nowhere near ready to have a full application ready in less than a week.
“We’ve been communicating, in talks with various top-of-the-line operators. Because of the sort of strategic and competitive sensitivities, we don’t feel like we can give a lot of detail about exactly what’s happening
(with) negotiations, but we’re moving forward,” Barnett said. “We are hopeful of having something soon that we can sort of bring to the public.”
Another sticking point was the fee for the license. MGC clarified the fee structure, saying any license holder in either a physical location or mobile would have to pay $5 million. Eichel had questioned the fairness of having to pay $10 million for both licenses, but the commission upheld that ruling in a 5-0 vote.
Raynham Park is already in the process of getting ready for sports betting in the state. They are in the midst of constructing a 30,000-square-foot facility that will host retail sports betting.
Sterling Suffolk Racecourse is still searching for a physical location for their sportsbook.
Meanwhile, a third racetrack has entered the fray of sports betting. Commonwealth Equine and Agriculture reported it had received approval from local government officials to build a racetrack. There are still issues, however, on who will pay the $5 million license fee.
