A second entity is on track to offer online sports betting in Massachusetts.
BetMGM was unanimously given the nod by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) on Monday after an almost 12-hour meeting, during which regulators scrutinized, at length, the applications for both the mobile bookmaker and MGM Springfield casino, which was also approved for sports wagering.
“It is a late night but the business is concluded,” MGC Chair Cathy Judd-Stein said at around 9 p.m. ET.
A closer look
Technically, the MGC awarded a preliminary finding of suitability to BetMGM, which now frees up the operator to apply for a temporary wagering license while the regulator conducts a full review.
BetMGM's so-called "Category 3" license to run an online sports betting site in Massachusetts will be linked to the "Category 1" license awarded to MGM Springfield, as the latter permit entitles the casino to two digital wagering platforms.
"Following a temporary license being granted, BetMGM must obtain an operations certificate and meet additional conditions before they can accept wagers on approved sporting events," the MGC said in a press release. "More information on a universal launch for retail wagering, followed by online wagering, will be released as it becomes available."
In addition to the standard conditions attached to BetMGM's approval, such as paying a $1-million fee for a temporary license, the operator must disclose any developments about two "confidential” investigations it reported to the MGC last week.
The investigations were discussed in a closed-door, “executive” session out of the public’s eye. The same went for BetMGM’s recent regulatory troubles in Maryland, where it was recently fined $146,000 for allegedly accepting bets in November without being authorized or licensed to do so. The MGC probed that matter more deeply in its executive session as well.
MGC Press Release: Massachusetts Gaming Commission Votes to Find BetMGM Suitable for a Temporary Category 3 Sports Wagering Operator License pic.twitter.com/uFOCxiCPEW
— MA Gaming Commission (@MassGamingComm) December 20, 2022
At any rate, Monday’s approval now means two online sportsbook operators are on track to start taking bets in March, which is when the MGC aims to begin mobile wagering in the Bay State. WynnBET is the other qualified entity at this point.
The MGC, though, is scheduled to continue its review of a mobile sports betting application for Caesars Sportsbook on Tuesday. Time permitting, presumably, regulators will dive into applications for a retail wagering permit for Plainridge Park Casino and mobile sports betting licenses for its partners, Barstool Sportsbook and Fanatics.
It has been relatively slow going in licensing entities for legal sports betting in Massachusetts, as the MGC has been very deliberate in its pace. Commissioners have been adamant about getting the information they need to make their decisions, which prompted the deferral of licensing rulings earlier this month for both MGM Springfield and Plainridge Park.
Now, though, there are two casinos and two online sportsbook operators with key approvals under their belts. Those facilities and operators are in a good position to start taking bets at the earliest possible moment in the commonwealth.
"The MGC set a goal to launch retail sports wagering in late January 2023 and online/mobile sports wagering in March 2023," the regulator reiterated in its Monday press release.
