Ma Gaming Commission Issues First Mobile Sports Betting License to Wynnbet

• The MA Gaming Commission Met Last Week and Approved WynnBet for License

• Sports Betting is Legal in MA with That Market Expected to Launch in Early 2023

• Now Five of Six New England States Have Legalized Sports Betting, Vermont Still a No

The MA Gaming Commission Met Last Week and Approved WynnBet for License

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MCG) met last week for 7 hours in an open online forum and in the end approved their first mobile sports betting license, naming Wynbet as the recipient after deciding that the sportsbook has met all the criteria required to operate there.

It took almost a full day’s work for the MGC to come to this conclusion:

“We find that the applicant WSIUS LLC doing business as WynnBet has shown us by substantial evidence that they have satisfied the criterion set forth in general law 23N … that the approval of their application would benefit the commonwealth ... “

At that same meeting, Jennifer Roberts, vice president and general counsel for WynnBET, told the MGC that her company considers their relationship with that commission a partnership:

“Madam Chair and members of the commission, we’re honored by this outcome today and we look forward to being a collaborative partner with the Commission going forward.”

That sports betting license approval was not given, especially after an earlier hiccup we reported on in MA Gaming Commish Stalls First Sports Betting License Review Due to Barstool, the controversial betting habits of owner David Portnoy apparently enough to pause that process.

Get ready, Massachusetts sports gamblers, your legal market launch is just around the corner.

Sports Betting is Legal in MA with That Market Expected to Launch in Early 2023

That MA sports betting market is expected to launch sometime in the first quarter of 2023, assuming the other 14 applicants for both retail and mobile sports betting licenses there are approved in a timely manner, the big sticking point a diversity issue.

Even WynnBet’s license has further conditions to meet since the commission was not satisfied with what the company submitted in terms of its diversity hiring practices and its goals to meet the conditions set forth by the MGC.

As a result, WynBett will be required to provide the MGC with “information on the company’s current vendor diversity statistics and establish goals on diversity spend in advance of operating sports wagering in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.”

But the expected launch date is no sooner than March 2023, so that should leave the company with plenty of time to comply.

Now Five of Six New England States Have Legalized Sports Betting, Vermont Still a No

Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned PASPA in May 2018 and gave each state the right to legalize, regulate, and tax their own sports betting market, over thirty states have done just that including five of the six New England colonies making that part of the country a gambling region.

Of the six New England states – Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont – only Vermont remains a holdout with no plans to launch its own legal sports betting market, but that might not last long as residents continue to gamble elsewhere.

Only Wyoming has less population than Vermont, so it’s no wonder that Green Mountain State lawmakers don’t see the benefit of legalizing sports betting there, but that take ignores the fact that Vermont sports bettors are still gambling, just sending that money out of state (for now).

It is an ongoing journey to launch that legal Massachusetts sports betting market and we will continue to cover the unfolding story, so keep checking back for all the latest news and updates.