What Must Happen Before MA Sportsbooks Can Launch Jan. 31

Massachusetts legalized sports betting in August. Regulators are preparing rules for retail sports gambling. The new deadline for opening sportsbooks is January 31, 2023. This gives football fans about a week and a half to place bets before the Super Bowl on February 12.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission is working on 225 regulations related to sports betting. The deadline for launching retail sports wagering at the state’s three casinos is at end of January. Online sports gambling is expected to launch in March.

The MGC approved Category 1 retail sports betting licenses for the state’s three casinos in December with unanimous votes. Each approval came with specific conditions for each casino to meet for their licenses to become permanent.

Encore Boston Harbor was the first to obtain a retail sportsbook license from the MGC. The casino received its license on December 8. It must obtain its certificate of operations and satisfy additional conditions before it can begin placing in-person bets.

MGM Springfield was the second casino to receive a sports wagering operator license. The MGC delayed its vote on the casino's application because of a late submission.

The MGC approved MA Sportsbooks for a retail and online sports wagering license with the following conditions. MA must provide the M GC with updates regarding two confidential investigations first reported to the Investigations and Enforcement Bureau on December 16, 2022.

MA Sportsbooks can launch on January 31st. MA must provide the MGC with updates regarding two confidential investigations first reported to the Investigations and Enforcement Bureau on December 16, 2022.

Plainridge Park Casino (PPC) received conditional approval for a sportsbook. PPC is under investigation in a probe that commenced in February. The investigation concerns the casino's relationship with Barstool Sports. PENN Gaming operates P PC and has a 36% ownership stake in BarStool.

The MGC passed emergency procedures in September. The agency will conduct business with two sports betting testing labs: BMM Testlabs and Gaming Laboratories International. They will also conduct technical testing before taking sports wagers. M GC has a full agenda with back-to-back weekday public meetings after the New Year to discuss applications for online sportsbooks.