Thursday's meeting of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) reviewed requests from multiple operators to add new prop bets and even a new sports league for Bay State bettors to bet on.
Fanatics, FanDuel, and DraftKings all made respective requests for the MGC, and all such requests received unanimous approval from the commission to update their wagering catalogs.
New Fanatics props in Massachusetts
Fanatics hopes to add new markets and prop bets for football, baseball, and ice hockey. Here’s a breakdown of the new options MA sports betting patrons can expect to see:
For football, the online sportsbook will offer new in-game wagering prop bets like:
- Result of next play
- Result of current drive
- Will team make a first down on current drive
For baseball, Fanatics will add, among others:
- Correct score
- Will an extra inning be played?
- Number of pitches for next at-bat
For ice hockey, Bay State bettors will now be able to wager on what is called the Grand Salami, or a particular wager on an occurrence happening during a specific timeframe. For example, a Grand Salami could be 30 total goals to be scored for the six games combined on a single day of NHL action.
Fanatics also submitted some clarifications to its house rules for a number of sports. In golf, the operator revised rules for clarification should the number of rounds be changed for any reason, like due to weather. It also added rules to address additional market types in soccer for prop bet selections like player assists, player goals, and player shots on target.
It is deleting Player Next Team for both football and basketball because these free agency betting markets were not approved by the MGC in February.
And for those inclined, Fanatics also wishes to offer wagering on badminton. The commission noted that the operator’s house rules governing badminton are in line with what other operators already have approved, and that they’ve been approved for Fanatics in other states.
The commission moved almost immediately to a vote and approved these additions unanimously.
FanDuel’s new markets in Massachusetts
FanDuel’s changes weren’t as extensive as Fanatics’ were, but they have some timely updates that will impact major sporting events taking place this time of year.
With the new baseball season just around the corner, the operator is adding new prop bets to its baseball catalog for both pitcher and everyday player performance. For pitchers, bettors will be able to wager on:
- Quality start
- No hitter
- Perfect game
- 9 up 9 down
- Number of total pitches thrown
For everyday player performance, the new props will include player to record first hit, run, RBI, or stolen base. FanDuel is also adding new futures markets for regular season stat leaders in hits, home runs, stolen bases, and wins, and for a team to earn a first-round bye in the postseason.
There will also be a slight adjustment for futures on the NCAA basketball tournament to include 68 teams and not just 64 teams since the field now encompasses a first four play-in round.
In addition, the operator is making clarifications for the closest to pin and longest drive markets in golf, and is separating IndyCar and NASCAR from Formula 1 in its motor sports category.
It also hopes to add Jai Alai to its list of sports.
The commission also voted 5-0 to approve these requests.
Spring (football) is in the air
FanDuel and DraftKings submitted requests to add the United Football League (UFL) to their respective online sportsbooks in Massachusetts. This combination of the former USFL and XFL is backed by The Rock, among other notable backers, and will be the springtime professional football option for football enthusiasts.
The MGC approved wagering on both the USFL and XFL last year, and it was noted that the UFL was already approved in 20 states for FanDuel and in 22 jurisdictions across the U.S. and Canada for DraftKings.
This, too, received unanimous approval from the commission in a 5-0 vote.
Massachusetts sports betting resulted in the second-largest handle ever for the state's sportsbooks in January and hit a record of more than $643 million in December. With new markets coming to some major operators, Bay State bettors will have even more action to keep the market growing.
