DraftKings asks Massachusetts regulators to reconsider sports betting launch timeline

Currently, retail betting will launch in January while online betting goes live in March.

DraftKings has asked gaming regulators in Massachusetts to reconsider a sports betting launch timeline, approved earlier this month, that would see in-person wagering commence in January and online betting start in March.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) will convene to hear out the operator’s request this week, during a day-long meeting that will feature updates on what regulations are required to found this brand-new industry.

However, the MGC’s agenda indicates it will not vote on the matter during the meeting. Sports betting experts predict it will not consider altering the timeline that it has already approved.

DraftKings declined to comment on the nature of its request, but a company representative argued for a universal launch date for in-person and online betting earlier this year, opposed to the disparate ones currently scheduled.

DraftKings Senior Director of Legal and Government Affairs Chris Cipolla said it was “very important overall” that all operators launch simultaneously. He commented: “We found that in other jurisdictions that (a universal launch date) has worked and made sense, ensuring that nobody obtains a competitive advantage, an unfair competitive advantage when a new market opens.”

Cipolla said this at a hearing that was also attended by FanDuel VP for product and new market compliance, Cory Fox, who agreed that operators who launch first “have enjoyed significant, sustained advantage and market share versus operators who have launched only a few days or weeks later.”

There have been two hearings in early October concerning the timeline of the sports betting rollout in Massachusetts. At neither one did the MGC consider a universal launch date for retail and online sports betting.

FanDuel and DraftKings are among 29 companies that have filled out an initial form kicking off the application process for a sports wagering license in Massachusetts.

Robert Collins

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