One of the more restrictive regulatory bodies in the U.S. sports betting market, Massachusetts is changing its approach. The state has indicated that it will reopen the process to submit an application for a sports betting license.
This decision was made at an April 9 open meeting of the
Massachusetts Gaming Commission
(MGC). The choice to reopen the license application process was approved by a unanimous 5-0 vote by the MGC.
With the proliferation of prediction market sites across the USA, MGC officials believe this may be an ideal time to reopen the licensing process for sports betting in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
“It’s been two years since the full launch,” MGC Chair Jordan Maynard said. “It makes sense that we look at these open licenses.
“I’m heartened that people want to come in when prediction markets, which we definitely don’t allow, want to enter for sports betting.”
The discussion and ultimate approval to once more entertain the licensing process were brought about by the fact that Bet365 has expressed interest in applying for a Massachusetts sports betting license.
“Bet365 has engaged in conversations with staff for quite some time as to the appropriate process by which to make a request to the commission to reopen this particular process,” MGC Deputy General Counsel Justin Stempeck revealed to MGC commissioners during the meeting. “We advised that they should send a formal letter, which they did.”
Beyond the interest from Bet365, members of the MGC felt it wise to open the licensing process up to see if any other sports betting sites might be eyeing a move into the Massachusetts market.
“It could just be Bet365,” Commissioner Naskisha Skinner said. “We could have others coming out of the woodwork.
“So I’m fine with opening up the process.”
This sentiment was echoed by Commissioner Brad Hill.
“Whoever wants to come forward, feel free,” Hill said. “And then there’s the process we will go through to see if this is something that will fit for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or not.”
Bet365 is seeking an untethered sports betting license to operate in Massachusetts
Bet365 has expressed interest in applying for a Category 3 untethered license in Massachusetts.
The MGC has the authority to issue as many as 16 mobile sports betting licenses to operate in the state. These licenses break down to six licenses tethered to land-based casinos, three tethered to racetracks, and seven untethered.
Currently, only seven of these licenses are in use. BetMGM, Caesars, Fanatics, and theScoreBet are tethered to land-based casinos. BallyBet, DraftKings, FanDuel, and Penn Interactive (theScoreBet) operate via untethered licenses.
Bet365 is currently operating sports betting sites in 16 U.S. states. The British-owned company offers online and mobile sports betting in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia.
Bet365 has aggressively expanded recently, adding five new states in 2025.
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