Massachusetts Reopens Sports Betting Licensing After bet365 Request, Four Untethered Slots Available
Massachusetts is reopening its sports betting licensing process for the first time since the market launched in 2023.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission voted unanimously on April 9 to reopen applications for sports wagering licenses, a move triggered by a formal request from UK-based operator bet365. The 5-0 vote came exactly two years after the state’s online sports betting market reached full operation.
Bet365 is seeking a Category 3 untethered license, which allows a sportsbook to offer statewide online betting without being tied to a physical casino or racetrack partner. Four such licenses remain available.
What bet365 Is Asking For
Major sportsbook bet365 has been circling the Massachusetts market for several years. The company explored entry before the state launched sports betting in 2023, at one point considering a partnership with Raynham Park, a simulcast wagering facility south of Boston. That arrangement fell apart, and bet365 moved on to other states. It now operates in 16 US jurisdictions, including Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and the recently launched Missouri market.
MGC Deputy General Counsel Justin Stempeck told commissioners that bet365 had engaged in extended conversations with commission staff about the appropriate path to making a formal request. “We advised that they should send a formal letter, which they did,” he said. The letter expressed interest specifically in a Category 3 license and set the reopening process in motion.
A Category 3 license requires a $200,000 application fee. If awarded, an operator pays a $5 million licensing fee for a five-year term.
Who Is Already Licensed
Massachusetts currently has seven sports betting operators in total. Three hold untethered Category 3 licenses: DraftKings, FanDuel, and Bally Bet. The remaining operators, including BetMGM, Caesars, Fanatics, and PENN Interactive’s theScore Bet, hold tethered licenses connected to the state’s brick-and-mortar casinos and racetracks.
Massachusetts law permits up to 16 mobile betting licenses across all categories: six tethered to casinos, three to racetracks, and seven untethered. Four untethered mobile slots and one retail casino sportsbook license remain unfilled.
The commission staff noted that if more Category 3 applicants emerge than there are available licenses, a competitive evaluation process would need to be established. No such process currently exists in regulation or statute, as the initial round had fewer applicants than openings.
The Prediction Market Context
MGC Chair Jordan Maynard framed the reopening partly in the context of the prediction market debate currently playing out in courts across the country. Massachusetts has taken an aggressive stance against prediction market platforms, with a state court issuing an injunction against Kalshi that is currently on appeal.
Maynard said it was encouraging to see a company willing to enter the regulated Massachusetts market and submit to state licensing and taxation at a time when prediction market operators are actively fighting to avoid that framework.
“If someone wants to enter the legal market of Massachusetts at a time when these so-called prediction markets are offering products we would never allow, that does hearten me,” he said.
Commissioners Debate the Pace
The vote was not without dissent on the process. Commissioner Eileen O’Brien raised concerns about reopening applications before understanding the economic impact of adding new licensees to what she described as a potentially saturated market. She suggested the commission commission an economic analysis first, warning that proceeding without that information was putting the cart before the horse.
Commissioner Nakisha Skinner took a more open posture. She acknowledged that bet365 may not be the only operator interested. “It could just be bet365, we could have others coming out of the woodwork,” she said. Commissioner Brad Hill agreed. “Whoever wants to come forward, feel free.”
The commission approved reopening the process and directed staff to develop a timeline for accepting applications at a future public meeting, followed by issuance of a formal Notice of Intent to gauge market interest. No application deadline has been set.
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