Encore Boston Harbor sports betting readies for launch day

Only days separate bettors from the legal launch of sports betting in Massachusetts next week, and officials at Encore Boston Harbor said Wednesday they are prepared to help the new industry get up and running.

Sports betting kiosks emblazoned with the WynnBET logo, the sportsbook behind the casino’s wagering operations, were installed and verified over the last week. An “express sportsbook” is almost done in the garage. And the multi-million dollar sports lounge near the main casino floor is finally complete with areas to place bets.

The lavish casino in Everett — which on Wednesday featured a carousel in its lobby covered in yellow, red and purple flowers and large stuffed animals riding shotgun — is running through the final checklist before the launch of in-person betting on Tuesday.

Officials are planning a program for launch day Jan. 31 and the ceremonial first bet will take place at 10 a.m., though exact details were scheduled to be released later Wednesday.

Encore Boston Harbor President Jenny Holaday said “it’s anybody’s guess” as to how many people will show up to the casino on Tuesday morning to wager on sports during the first legal day of sports betting.

“Luckily, it’s a Tuesday and the NFL playoffs will be over. So we will have a good … 11 days to work out any kinks, which isn’t a long runway. But we will maximize it as we prepare for the big day on Feb. 12 [the NFL Super Bowl],” Holaday said in an interview with MassLive. “We don’t expect huge volumes leading up to it. But again, it’s anybody’s guess.”

It has been a long road to the launch of sports betting for Encore, one that started years ago at the legislative level with the push to legalize the practice. The casino made a gamble a few years back when it invested in its WynnBET Sports Bar before sports wagering was approved in Massachusetts.

It was not until the bitter end of formal lawmaking in 2022 that lawmakers managed to overcome competing sports betting proposals and pass legislation that former Gov. Charlie Baker would ultimately sign into law on Aug. 10, 2022.

Encore’s bet on its sports lounge is about to pay off, at least for now. The casino will be the only site to place legal wagers on sporting events in the Boston area until mobile betting launches sometime in March. Whether that translates into massive crowds on game days remains to be seen.

Encore will feature the most sports betting kiosks in the state compared to MGM Springfield and Plainridge Park Casino. The Boston casino has 118 kiosks and eight point-of-sale terminals verified by Gaming Labs International, a well-known gaming testing and certification company, according to regulators.

Holaday said there were no issues or challenges installing the kiosks, which come from United Tote, a company that has produced wagering equipment since 1959.

“One thing that was a huge advantage for us is having WynnBET as our partner, right, because they already operate in other states,” Holaday said. “We’ve sort of managed the process, almost like, we’re the tenant, and we’re leasing their IP, kind of. So it was really helpful to have them involved every step of the way.”

The kiosks are spread throughout the facility. Gamblers can enter two side rooms just off the main casino floor that are complete with TVs and kiosks. The WynnBET Sports Bar has wickets with point-of-sale terminals and a handful of kiosks along with cushy lounge chairs for VIPs.

And in case bettors are in a rush, the casino also features the WynnBET Express Sportsbook, a closed-off room located just off a garage where people can drive in, park for up to 15 minutes and walk into a room filled with kiosks.

Massachusetts Gaming Commission regulator Eileen O’Brien initially raised concerns with the garage-based betting area at a meeting in December 2022.

“I still raise an eyebrow at putting it in that venue,” O’Brien said. “Not only just for sort of the best-in-class casino experience but also security issues, etc. And I do want to talk about that. This may or may not be the venue. Also, that may have to be something that’s discussed in another setting, in terms of security.”

But the concerns were satisfied, and the casino moved forward with the idea. An Encore spokesperson said the express sportsbook will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. and have a security guard checking IDs.

Behind all of the betting are a team of WynnBET employees, known as traders, who set the odds on games. WynnBET Vice President of Trading Alan Berg said there are many factors that go into setting odds on a sporting event.

“How much time do you have?” he said amid a laugh when asked about the process.

The process starts with WynnBET’s own variation on what the traders believe an odd should be. Maybe the line on an NFL game should be six, he said, but the “world market” thinks it should be four. At that point, WynnBET might take a position of four-and-a-half or five.

“It really just depends on our confidence in that particular number and then how much liability we want to take at that number,” he told MassLive. “Eventually, you basically end up ‘on market,’ what it’s called. So basically, everybody has a similar number at some point, usually the closer you get to tip-off or kick-off of a game. But there’s a lot of variables as to why we move, why we don’t move.”

Will there be different odds on kiosks or on future mobile betting applications?

“It’s possible,” he said. “It’s kind of like a little bit of the sauce if I get too far into that. But I think that people will be excited about what we’ll do on mobile when it comes to the player who wants to make a $500,000 bet. They’ll be excited.”