Multiple options
Legal sports betting is finally up and running in Massachusetts. Retail sportsbooks opened for business at 10am on Tuesday at each of the three casinos in the state. Anyone who is at least 21 years old can now go to the Plainridge Park Casino, MGM Springfield, or the Encore Boston Harbor casino to place bets in person.
Each casino held its own unique launch event, with prominent former athletes placing ceremonial first bets, including former stars of the New England Patriots and Boston Bruins.
Barstool Sports is operating the sportsbook at Plainridge Park
Bettors can choose which sportsbook operator they prefer. Barstool Sports is operating the sportsbook at Plainridge Park, with WynnBET and BetMGM operating the offerings at the Encore Boston Harbor and MGM Springfield, respectively. Each of these properties offer both self-service betting kiosks and betting windows.
Certain exclusions
Massachusetts does not yet have an active online market, but the state gaming regulator intends for this to go live in early March.
Bettors can currently wager in person on the majority of popular sports in Massachusetts, including college and professional basketball, football, and baseball. Some of the main markets currently unavailable to bettors are esports, chess, and certain Olympics sports that rely on judge decisions to determine the outcome.
Betting is also available on certain non-sporting markets, such as wagering on the winners of the Academy Awards.
a voluntary sports betting self-exclusion program
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) has also launched a voluntary sports betting self-exclusion program. It is similar to the program already in place for the state’s casinos, to which 1,300 people are currently signed up.
More on the way
While it is not opening on Tuesday, Raynham Park is also due to launch a sportsbook eventually. Caesars is set to operate the offering at the racetrack once the MGC gives the all-clear. Suffolk Downs, another Massachusetts racing track, has not yet announced a retail sports betting partner, but rumors are that it will strike a deal with BetRivers.
If all goes to plan, online betting could launch in time for the March Madness college basketball tournament.
To date, 11 online sportsbooks have received MGC approval to launch. These are PointsBet, Betway, Bally Sports, FanDuel, DraftKings, Betr, Fanatics, Barstool Sports, BetMGM, Caesars, and WynnBET. Some of these operators have only secured conditional approval. For example, Barstool Sports needs to comply with investigations into its operations and has to adhere to additional marketing conditions before it can launch.