Massachusetts Won’t Set Sports Betting Launch Date
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission continues to work slowly in the process to launch sports betting in the state. Key industry leaders are pushing the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to announce an official launch date, but that just hasn’t happened up to this point.
Everything about this process has been slower than most would like and the Gaming Commission recently stated that they would be deliberate when setting up the industry. There have been rumors that the commission is planning to allow sportsbooks to launch on a rolling basis, but stakeholders are not on board with this plan.
A recent roundtable discussion was held with the MGC and leaders of the casinos that are currently in the state. News from that meeting made it clear that both sides were far apart in their ideas of how this industry should launch and how it should be set up.
Kansas just recently announced that it is planning on launching sports betting on September 1, and that state worked extremely quickly to get the industry off of the ground. Massachusetts has the potential to be an even bigger sports betting market, but the operators simply need the green light to go live.
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker has implored the Gaming Commission to act swiftly in the past, and now his pleas are joined by sportsbook operators.
Racetracks Not Ready to Build
Those properties in Massachusetts that will eventually be able to offer sports betting need to know a sports betting launch date for several reasons. Casinos have already started to build retail sportsbooks in preparation, but the same can’t be said for the racetracks that will receive a sports betting license.
There are two racetracks in the state of Massachusetts and both of those received a type 2 license. Each property has to be willing to put up at least $7.5 million in capital in order to offer sports betting, and it’s hard to commit that kind of money without knowing a launch date.
One advantage that the racetracks are going to have is that they will be able to choose from a large group of potential sports betting partners. Most of the casino licenses have already been claimed, but there are still some big names that want to enter the state.
WynnBET Ready to Go
WynnBET Sportsbook is a name that has started to pop up throughout the United States sports betting industry, but it has not yet become a leader. That could change in the state of Massachusetts as a retail sportsbook has already been built at Encore Boston Harbor.
This company has started to scale back on sports betting efforts in other states, but it plans to go full speed ahead in the state of Massachusetts. This sportsbook is already available in nine states throughout the country, but WynnBET has market access in a total of 18 states, including Massachusetts.
