An attempt to get Massachusetts regulators to revisit the rough timeline for launching legal sports betting was shot down on Thursday, leaving the Bay State on its current course.
The effort was driven by DraftKings, which sent a letter to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) on October 13 asking for a simultaneous launch of retail and online sports betting sites, rather than in late January and early March, respectively.
The company’s reasons why the commission should reconsider its Massachusetts sports betting timeline included that the current plan would "artificially limit consumer choice and consumer protections, stunt the state’s sports wagering market, and put mobile first operators, such as DraftKings, at a competitive disadvantage compared to others."
Ultimately, though, the company’s arguments were not enough to sway the Massachusetts regulators, who spent two days earlier this month to settle on the staggered sports betting launch.
“I didn't see any new circumstances or any point of clarification that we needed to address,” MGC Chair Cathy Judd-Stein said during Thursday’s meeting. “We won't move forward on this, but we thank the prospective applicant for the interest.”
Sticking to the plan
The decision keeps Massachusetts on track to launch retail sports betting at casinos in late January and across the state via online sports betting sites in early March, which is what the gaming commission ultimately settled on earlier this month.
That, however, could give some of DraftKings’ rivals a chance to introduce themselves and take action from players before DK can get in the game. The three casinos in Massachusetts have ties to Barstool Sportsbook, BetMGM, and WynnBET, which compete with DraftKings for business in other markets.
Moreover, DraftKings’ opinion in the matter carries a bit of weight in the commonwealth as its headquarters are in Boston. Allowing some operators to launch before others “creates an unlevel playing field,” the company argued.
“Based on the discussion during the Commission’s [previous] meeting, it is clear that the timeline decision was made not for policy reasons but, rather, because the Commission believes that it will be a challenge to promulgate regulations in a timely manner,” DraftKings wrote. “We respectfully request the Commission reconsider, as other states have recently been able to successfully codify regulations for retail and online sports wagering at the same time and launch both verticals simultaneously.”
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission shot down the request from DraftKings to launch retail and mobile sports betting at the same time in the state.
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) October 27, 2022
“I think we’ve really discussed it enough that we don't need to discuss it again,” Commissioner Bradford Hill said.
DK's letter: pic.twitter.com/8JSPlYZAhg
While those arguments may have been reason enough for DraftKings to suggest changes to the timeline, it was not enough for the regulators, who opted to stick with the current version.
“I think we've really discussed it enough that we don't need to discuss it again,” Commissioner Bradford Hill said during Thursday’s meeting.
Although there was a bit of sympathy for DraftKings' concerns about competitiveness, there was also a worry that tinkering with the timeline could wind up delaying mobile sports betting even further.
Commissioner Jordan Maynard said he was concerned about the information that could be gathered up at a betting kiosk at a brick-and-mortar sportsbook and handed off to an online sportsbook.
“And that's something that I would like to address later on, as we keep moving through regulations,” Maynard said. “But, I want to be clear, I do believe that if we open this matter back up, it could change timelines completely.”
