Bettors will have to wait until the end of January to find out which businesses will receive the official green light from state regulators to conduct mobile sports betting in Massachusetts, according to a new timeline unveiled Thursday.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission plans to begin next week a review of applications for Category Three untethered sports betting licenses, known as businesses that want to offer digital or mobile-only bets not tied to a casino or horse racetrack. Simulcasting facility.
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Six companies have applied to offer mobile sports betting that is not affiliated with a brick-and-mortar operation in Massachusetts, including FanDuel, BetR, Bally’s Interactive, DraftKings, PointsBet and Betway.
Encore will mirror in some ways the series of hearings the commission just completed for Boston Harbor, MGM Springfield, Plainridge Park Casino, BetMGM, WinBet, and more. and Caesars Sportsbook.
Hearings for the untethered mobile applicants will begin Jan. 6, and officials will invite representatives from all six companies to attend.
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At that meeting, commission chair Kathy Judd-Stein is expected to provide an overview of the process, lead attorney Todd Grossman will brief businesses on the legal framework, and then regulators will jump on the application from Bally’s Interactive.
Hearings are scheduled for FanDuel on January 9, BetR on January 10, DraftKings on January 11, Betway on January 13 and Pointsbet on January 17. The commissioners will not hold a hearing until January 19 and 20. Final decision to grant license to any applicant.
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At their respective hearings, businesses will have half an hour to appear before the commission and another half hour to showcase their mobile platform before regulators move into a section-by-section review of the applications, according to a memo from the commission’s executive. Directed by Karen Wells.
At a hearing on Thursday, regulators did not discuss a specific launch date for mobile wagering, but earlier said they expected it to be up and running by early March 2023.
“It is important that we reiterate that any operator’s launch is still strictly tied to regulatory approval of operational readiness, and operators must pass a rigorous vetting process of verification and verification before placing any bets on their platform,” Judd-Stein said.
- Read more: MGM Springfield granted sports betting license ahead of 2023 opening
At a hearing last week, commissioners said in-person betting would begin at three Massachusetts casinos on Jan. 31, following a Jan. 30 “soft launch.”
