Massachusetts Won’t Change Sportsbook Launch for DraftKings

• The Massachusetts Gaming Commission met Thursday to vote on sports betting matters.
• The MGC also discussed the possibility of changing their pre-approved launch date.

BOSTON – Massachusetts sports betting continued on track this week with the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) meeting Thursday.

The goal of the meeting? To speak of process updates for sports wagering. They also reviewed the Massachusetts sportsbook licensing framework.

Revisions were also considered as the Thursday meeting consisted of over a dozen votes.

One of the most notable was near the end. This regarded the Massachusetts sports betting launch dates.

As it stood, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission agreed to have a staggered launch. Like most states with legal sports betting, retail would launch first. Online sportsbooks would launch shortly after.

For Massachusetts, their goal was Super Bowl (retail) and March Madness (online).

All operators were on board with this goal, sans DraftKings. Sending a request to the MGC, DraftKings urged them to reconsidered a staggered launch.

Without wanting to give an unfair advantage to those who launch first, DraftKings believed this “would artificially limit consumer choice and consumer protections.”

DraftKings pushed for a universal launch date, like Ohio sports betting.

In an earlier meeting, the MGC expressed how the launch dates could change. This was assuming the commission had issues filtering through the applications.

Request Denied

But, the commission held true to their original plan and decided to keep the two launch dates.

“I continue to look at [staggering launch] reports… and I feel very comfortable that what we did was the right thing” said Commissioner Bradford Hill

While this didn’t come with much backlash, the MGC proved their power over DraftKings. Despite a headquarters in Boston and employment of hundreds of residents, DraftKings’ request was not granted.

As one of the assumed Massachusetts sports betting apps, the MGC will issue licenses to sportsbooks both large and small. In the mix of potential Massachusetts online sportsbooks include international books Easywin and Buddybet as well as US-based Underdog Win.

The next steps for the MGC include reviewing public comments for many aspects. With comments due either November 22 or December 6, everything is progressing as planned for legal Massachusetts sportsbooks.

News tags: Bradford Hill | BuddyBet | DraftKings | Easywin | Massachusetts | Ohio | Underdog Win