The MA sports betting menu will include wagers like Super Bowl MVP and the NFL Draft.
On Tuesday, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission voted to have player award futures and professional drafts as part of its approved catalog of Massachusetts sports betting wagers.
Legal Massachusetts sports betting kicks off Jan. 31 at retail locations. Online sports betting will begin in early March.
MA sports wagering special events
The approved catalog of MA sports betting wagers will include drafts, awards and special events like the Oscars, Emmy Awards, Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, and other Major League Eating sanctioned events.
It will not include, by unanimous vote:
- eSports
- Russian and Belarusian-sanctioned events
- Jai Alai
- Chess
- Cornhole
- Judged summer and winter athletic competitions like the Olympics
There will be a feature discussion on the catalog to come.
O’Brien voted down by colleagues
It appeared as though the MGC might vote against awards.
Commissioner Eileen O’Brien introduced a motion that events not be determined via statistics be excluded.
But O’Brien’s motion was voted down, 3-1, with Commissioner Nakisha Skinner abstaining.
MA sports wagering vote breakdown
Commissioner Jordan Maynard was in the pro-robust catalog category. Commissioners Bradford Hill and Skinner changed their minds on the subject after it initially appeared they would side with O’Brien.
“People have shifted their views, I have not shifted mine,” O’Brien said.
Chair Cathy Judd-Stein voted yes as well.
“With respect to all of those involved in those judgments, there’s such a degree of scrutiny, and their job is to be transparent and move with integrity,” Judd-Stein said.
Hill noted that if the average Massachusetts bettor could wager on Super Bowl MVP, “I’d hightail it up to New Hampshire where I could.”
bet365 pulls out of MA sports betting
Former dog racing track Raynham Park will have a 30,000-square foot retail sportsbook via a partnership with Caesars Sportsbook.
It will no longer be partnering with bet365 for its online sportsbook access. Raynham Park owner Chris Carney told the Enterprise News that bet365 “balked at conforming to some of MA’s gaming regulations.”
There are 11 online sports betting operators in MA.
