Sports betting is nothing new to the United States of America. People have been engaged in it for fun and, for some, to test their fortunes by getting a lot richer. Massachusetts is looking to walk with the times by enabling operators to function in sports betting in the state.
Legal sports betting began on the last day of January this year; however, it is only now that six potential operators are going live on March 10, 2023, this Friday. Hours before launch, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission is pondering how to improve the rule that grants operators the power to ban some people for performing certain actions, like being notorious or having a bad reputation for continuous bad activities.
Until now, only casinos had that authority, with 58 people so far being banned from physically entering the premises. If the rule is tweaked for sports betting on mobile, then the Commission is pondering whether the user should be banned only for that particular operator or from mobile betting altogether. A memo said that this is being proposed only for emergency adoption to ensure that it can go live before the launch.
The amended regulation has reportedly been approved with a waiver wherein operators have been permitted to take more time to submit their written policies.
During Wednesday’s meeting, Cathy Judd-Stein, the MGC Chair, said that it was essential to ensure that a person who may not wager cannot wager since they are no longer eligible to wager.
Initially, seven operators were expected to go live on Friday’s debut. Betr withdrew from the event, citing the need for additional time to create a better experience, and will resume its activities the following month. Hence, six operators are now live following the launch:
- BetMGM
- Barstool Sportsbook
- FanDuel
- DraftKings
- Caesars Sportsbook
- WynnBET
Judd-Stein had announced the withdrawal of Betr from mobile wagering, following which the company issued a statement saying that the priority is to offer the best experience to players through the application. Betr added that the team is working on launching the platform, and it could take a maximum of until next month. Calling this an important milestone, Betr has said that it cannot wait to offer a differentiated product experience to the community.
Till the time Betr goes live, people in Massachusetts will be able to access the other six online sports betting sites at their convenience through a mobile device. A decision is also being made about operators rounding the number of cents that are paid to a winning bettor. The Commission has ruled out the opportunity to round the cents by saying they deserve every cent of the prize.
The Commission has so far concluded that operators can only round up and down.
