Massachusetts Gaming Commission

October 28, 2024

Jordan Maynard officially named Massachusetts gaming chair

On Monday (28 October) interim Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) chair Jordan Maynard was appointed to a permanent role by the state's governor.

Maynard has been serving as the interim chair since former MGC chief Cathy Judd-Stein retired from public service in March. Governor Maura Healy also appointed former Melrose mayor Paul Brodeur as the agency’s fifth commissioner, according to a press release. The MGC had been down a commissioner since Judd-Stein’s retirement.

“He has proven to be a consensus builder who has a deep understanding of the agency and strives to do what’s best for the people of Massachusetts,” Healy said via press release.

Maynard was first appointed to the MGC in August 2022 and was part of the MGC when it developed rules and launched digital and in-person sports betting in 2023. The state’s general assembly legalised wagering in August 2022.

“I wish to congratulate Jordan Maynard upon his designation by Governor Healey as chair of the Massachusetts ..

October 2, 2024

More BetMGM betting violations revealed in Massachusetts

An external audit commissioned by BetMGM in Massachusetts revealed multiple potential violations of state wagering regulations. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) decided on Wednesday (2 October) to handle the newly found violations and two existing ones in a single adjudicatory hearing.
After BetMGM allowed banned prop bets on college football games and professional soccer matches, the operator hired Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) to audit its books. That company found additional potential “non-compliant” bets, including:

Forty-one more college-player props on college football;
Thirteen college-player props on college basketball;
Twelve college-player props on two women’s Elite Eight college basketball games on 1 April 2024; and
One hundred-and-six bets placed between 8 June 2024 and 17 June 2024 on Glory Kickboxing events.

College-player prop bets are prohibited in Massachusetts. And Glory Kickboxing is not an approved betting market. MGC staff revealed the add..

September 26, 2024

Massachusetts regulator gives Penn green light for ESPN Bet retail rebrand; removes betting on college awards from menu

As Penn Entertainment and ESPN Bet prepare to launch in New York, Penn got approval on Thursday (26 September) to rebrand its Massachusetts brick-and-mortar sportsbook. The company has rebranded and opened two others in the last two weeks.
Late last week, ESPN Bet openeda retail sportsbook at L’Auberge Casino Resort in Louisiana and it opened a venue at the Margaritaville Resort Casino on 14 September. For its Massachusetts location, at Plainridge Park, Penn was doing its due diligence by asking the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) to sign off on the change. Commission staff said it saw no “substantive issues” with the rebrand and the Massachusetts regulator gave Penn its blessing. No date was announced for the rebranding.

ESPN Bet went live digitally in 17 US jurisdictions, including Massachusetts, last November. On Monday (23 September) the company got approval from the New York State Gaming Commission to launch in that state. On Monday a Penn executive pointed to a go-live a..

September 12, 2024

Mass Gaming Commission to set hearing about DraftKings’ bungled email

People on the self-exclusion list in Massachusetts received the email about a ‘bonus bet'.
A widespread notification from DraftKings in mid-August about settlement of PGA Tour golf bets mostly was met with harmless bemusement and confusion from those receiving the email.

The recipients consisted of those who have made wagers on golf using the online sportsbook – just not this particular bet. It also included some who don’t even have a DraftKings account.

But it is another group of recipients that may land the Boston-based sports betting giant in hot water with regulators.

DraftKings message was intended for 13 bettors
That’s because during a Massachusetts Gaming Commission hearing on Thursday (12 September), it was revealed that the email was intended to be sent to only 13 bettors whose wagers were relevant to the settlement. But it actually went out to more than a million users. The potential hot water comes from the fact that the commission found that 184 residents on the vol..

September 11, 2024

Bet limits discussion in Massachusetts reveals disconnect between regulator, operators

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) led a nearly three-hour discussion about bet limits on Wednesday (11 September). It was the second attempt at doing so after most operators stood the commission up in the spring.
The meeting revealed a disconnect between operators, regulators, consumers and responsible gaming advocates about how or if a regulator should have a hand in how operators manage risk.

Every operator live in Massachusetts participated in the meeting. The last time, only Bally’s, which wasn’t yet live with Bally Bet, attended.

Statement from DraftKings on decision to not participate in Massachusetts Gaming Commission roundtable on practice of limiting bettors: pic.twitter.com/thbltgu8jc
— David Payne Purdum (@DavidPurdum) May 21, 2024

In addition, there was a panel of stakeholders, ranging from a bettor/journalist to responsible gaming advocates to those with experience running casinos and sportsbooks. The conversation centred on how and why bettors may be limited…

August 16, 2024

Massachusetts operators hold 10.3% as Bally Bet makes debut

Massachusetts sportsbook operators were the winners in July, according to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission revenue report released on Thursday (15 August).
The state’s seven mobile operators and three retail operators combined for a 10.3% hold and handle was up significantly over July 2024.

Bally Bet, BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, ESPN Bet, Fanatics Sportsbook and FanDuel took a combined $405.3m (£315.3/€369.3m) in wagers compared to $294.9m in July 2023. Massachusetts’ handle was down against June’s $509.3m. Four digital operators recorded hold of over 10%.

Massachusetts operators paid more than $8m to the state in taxes.

Boston-based DraftKings retained its spot as the market-share leader, taking $202m in wagers, holding 10.3% and recording adjusted gross revenue (AGR) of $20.9m. FanDuel was second with $119.9m in handle and a hold of 10.97%.

Bally Bet had lowest hold of all operators
Massachusetts was back up to seven operators for July, after Bally Bet launched o..

March 18, 2024

Massachusetts online sportsbooks report $5.98bn handle in first 12 months

In the final month that Betr and WynnBET sports betting platforms were live, Massachusetts retail and online sportsbooks combined take $542.5m (£426.0m/€497.7m) in bets in February, down 16.8% from January.

February also marked the 12th month of live digital sports betting, and the state regulator reported $5.98bn in online bets taken since launch 10 March 2023.

During February, eight digital platforms were live. But heading into March, those in the state now have six choices, after Betr and WynnBET shuttered their Bay State platforms.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission last week announced that it expects Bally Bet to be live by the end of June. BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbooks, DraftKings, ESPN Bet, Fanatics Betting & Gaming, and FanDuel remain live.

For February, Massachusetts’ three brick-and-mortar and eight online sportsbooks reported $52.55m in adjusted gross gaming revenue (GGR) and paid the state $10.5m in taxes. Since the state’s three brick-and-mortar sportsbooks went live 3..

May 23, 2023

MA regulator “frustrated” by DraftKings betting violations

Commissioners from state gambling regulator, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC), said they were “frustrated” by DraftKings' betting violations.

DraftKings reported itself to the Commission after discovering it had offered bets on the tennis UTR pro-series, which is not an approved betting event in the state.

The MGC’s Investigations and Enforcement Bureau (IEB) looked into the case. The wagering took place over a 12-day period from 10 March to 22 March.

During this time, players placed 864 bets on three events for a total handle of $7,867. DraftKings said the reason the error took place was because of a “miscommunication” between its trading and trading compliance teams.

The fault occurred after the operator copied a list of tennis offerings from a different jurisdiction without verifying if the event was approved in Massachusetts.

After discovering the issue, the DraftKings returned stakes to the players who had placed a bet, as well as removed any winnings and return..

March 10, 2023

Massachusetts’ mobile sports betting market goes live

The six online operators approved to launch mobile sports betting offerings in Massachusetts – FanDuel, DraftKings, WynnBet, Barstool, BetMGM and Caesars – have gone live in Massachusetts.

More than six months on from when then-governor Charlie Baker signed House Bill 5164 into law, players have begun placing bets from the six online operators licensed by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) – joining the now majority of US states that have legalised the activity.

The rollout follows the launch of retail sports betting towards the end of January, that permitted any land-based casino or racetrack operator to apply for a licence.

“The debut of sports betting in Massachusetts has delivered an incredible amount of excitement and activity to our retail sportsbook at MGM Springfield,” said BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt. “We’re proud to expand our best-in-class wagering experience statewide during one of sports’ biggest months of action.”

Role of sports fans

President of Caesars Digit..

February 23, 2023

Massachusetts overturns affiliate ban in regulation

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) has announced that it will overturn the ban on affiliates that was created in the state’s regulation.

In its open meeting today (23 February), the MCG agreed to replace the existing language in its regulation, which currently bans affiliates from the market by prohibiting cost per acquisition (CPA) and revenue share agreements.

The MGC went on to confirm that they have been working on amendments to the regulations of both licensing for sports wagering vendors as well as advertising for sports wagering advertising.

These amendments are currently still a period of consultation and will be voted on during an open meeting on 23 March 2023.

Under regulation 205 CMR 256, subsection 256.01 (3) the law currently reads: “No sports wagering operator may enter into an agreement with a third party to conduct advertising, marketing, or branding on behalf of, or to the benefit of, the licensee when compensation is dependent on, or related to, the volume ..

January 31, 2023

Massachusetts’ sports betting market launches

Category 1 license holders can officially offer retail sports betting in Massachusetts from today (31 January), with mobile wagering to follow in March.

Sports betting was officially signed into law in August last year by then-governor Charlie Baker.

After the 21 November deadline to apply for licences passed, the MGC revealed that 15 operators had submitted applications. Initially, 29 operators expressed an interest in applying.

Read the full story on iGB North America

November 23, 2022

Massachusetts receives 15 applications for sports betting licences as deadline passes

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) has completed the application process for new sports betting licences in the state, with 15 operators having put forward submissions.

The deadline to apply for a licence passed at 2pm local time on 21 November, with the MGC receiving three applications for Category 1 licences, five for a Category 3 licence tethered to a Category 1 licence, and six were received for stand-alone Category 3 licences.

An additional Category 3 licence application to be tethered to a Category 2 licence was also submitted, while the MGC noted that Category 2 licences, which only current horse tracks or simulcast facilities are eligible for, will be accepted on a rolling basis after the deadline.

Read the full story on iGB North America

November 2024
Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
				1	2	3
4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17
18	19	20	21	22	23	24
25	26	27	28	29	30

Tag: Massachusetts Gaming Commission