Top stories around our network this week
Regulators and operators in Massachusetts — and presumably thousands of expectant bettors — are busy prepping for that state’s addition Tuesday to the roll call of locales where a person can walk into a casino and place a legal sports wager.
The state’s three casinos will have new sportsbooks open Tuesday to accept bets on the Super Bowl, Celtics, Bruins, and most of the events allowed in dozens of other states, although the Massachusetts Gaming Commission is holding off on the start of more widely accessible mobile wagering until early March.
Among the commission’s actions this week in preparation for launch, it approved a fairly broad catalog of betting options that will be available to retail and online sportsbooks, including entertainment awards shows, league drafts, and regular sporting events. It also made clear it wants responsible gambling messaging to be more prominent in marketing materials, but it will delay the requirement of a larger font size so as not to force sportsbooks to trash those already prepared in advance of the Super Bowl.
Two more retail sportsbooks are to open at parimutuel facilities in the state, although at an unspecified later date beyond next week. Raynham Park did announce that it has Caesars Sportsbook as a partner ready to run its still-to-be-constructed on-site sportsbook.
Many more developments lie ahead in Massachusetts between now and March Madness as it prepares to become the second major state after Ohio to launch legalized sports betting in 2023. and its network of sites and staff will be on top of those developments and much more, as these stories from the past week show:
Yep, New York’s big, maybe getting bigger
New York poised for $2 billion sports wagering handle in January
New York tribes could finally get a seat at the mobile sports betting table
Let’s just get across the state line
Missouri legislators lament exodus of bettors to neighboring states
Maryland’s build-up continues
SuperBook Sports receives initial approval for Maryland wagering license