With checkmarks to all the necessary regulatory boxes, the first sports betting sites in the Bay State will start taking wagers in less than 24 hours.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) met Monday and approved awarding certificates of operation for three casinos, where legal sports betting will start in the state on Tuesday morning. The sports-betting certificates are effective January 31 and are conditional on the three casinos completing audits of their operations within 90 days of taking their first official wager.
MGC Chair Cathy Judd-Stein called the awarding of the certificates a "big piece of business" that needed to be done to move forward with the launch of retail sports betting. Encore Boston Harbor in Everett, MGM Springfield in Springfield, and Plainridge Park Casino (PPC) in Plainville will be the first sites to offer sports betting in Massachusetts starting at around 10 a.m. tomorrow.
Bettors aged 21 and older will be able to wager at kiosks and windows at the three facilities. The MGC heard last week that Encore had 118 kiosks and eight point-of-sale terminals pass inspection, MGM had 18 kiosks and eight POS terminals cleared, and PPC had 20 kiosks and six POS terminals approved.
Wynn Resorts' Encore will have a WynnBET sportsbook open. MGM Springfield told the MGC it has already built a "first-class" sports-wagering lounge (using the BetMGM brand, of course) with stadium seating and a 45-foot viewing wall. Plainridge Park plans on opening a Barstool Sportsbook.
Drive-by betting
In other words, there will be multiple spots at the three locations to get a bet down. Notably, at Encore Boston Harbor, there will even be an "express" sportsbook located in the parking garage that will allow bettors to swing by and make a quick wager.
Commissioner Eileen O’Brien said during Monday’s meeting of the MGC that Encore has transformed a VIP-like arrival area into the home for the parking-lot book.
“It is done very well,” O’Brien told her fellow commissioners.
Patrons will have plenty to wager on from the jump, as regulators approved what they described as a “robust” wagering catalog, including markets for all major leagues and events. Bettors will also have plenty of time to wager on the coming Super Bowl, which was a significant consideration for the MGC in setting its launch timeline.
Sports bettors who don’t want to leave the house to wager will have to wait, however. Mobile sports betting in Massachusetts is slated to start in March, according to the MGC’s timeline. Eleven operators have already received preliminary approvals from the regulator, putting them in line to take wagers as soon as possible.
Big news! Our Barstool Sportsbook kiosks are being installed now, get ready for the ultimate in-person betting experience! #BarstoolSportsbook pic.twitter.com/4ZAqXUDqLL
— Plainridge Park Casino (@PlainridgePark) January 17, 2023
The regulations in Massachusetts require an operator to request and receive an operation certificate from the commission before they can start accepting bets. That certificate, which operators must post somewhere within their facility, can only be issued after all necessary reviews, on-site tests, and inspections are completed.
Commissioners traveled to the casinos on Monday to check out the facilities for themselves.
“I had no concerns,” Commissioner Jordan Maynard said of Plainridge Park. “It looks to me at this point… that PPC was in really, really solid shape.”
Commissioner Bradford Hill was at MGM and was pleased with the responsible-gaming messaging appearing on kiosk screens and the kiosks themselves.
“We toured the area where the sports betting will be taking place,” Hill noted. “We got to go into a kiosk, we were able to take some bets, and the test went very, very well.”
