It’s going to be longer than some people are thinking before legal sports betting really gets up and running in Massachusetts once Gov. Charlie Baker signs the bill on his desk, the Gaming Commission made clear Thursday morning.
“I want the public to understand, as we as commissioners are starting to understand, that this isn’t something that’s going to happen overnight,” Commissioner Brad Hill said. He added, “I’ve seen some quotes in the newspaper from the public and others that they hope to have this thing up and running in a very, very short amount of time. And I just want the public to be clear, at least from my view … this is going to take a little longer than people probably anticipate, and I’m OK with that because I want to do it right.”
Hill did not point to any specific comments, but he appeared to be responding to comments from Sen. Eric Lesser, who said on sports radio this week that the commission told him “it’ll take about 90 days” for them to begin issuing licenses, and others.
“So you’re talking about maybe October that the whole thing could be up and running. So you know, pretty soon, and definitely for the fall football season,” Lesser, who is running for statewide office, said this week.
The legislation would allow for wagering on both professional and collegiate sports in the Bay State, according to Speaker Mariano’s tweet.
The other commissioners agreed with Hill’s comments and much of the meeting Thursday morning was focused on the litany of very detailed issues that Executive Director Karen Wells and the commission staff have been thinking about and will want the commission to address if or when the governor signs the sports betting bill on his desk.
When casinos open a sportsbook, what is considered the gaming area? How should promotional play offers from sports betting operators be treated for tax purposes? What forms will the commission require of operators seeking a license here? What levels of information on jobs will be required from applicants? What standards should be used to evaluate mobile betting platforms from an IT perspective? How is sports betting going to fit into the commission’s own organizational structure?
“The overarching principle that we’re operating under is that integrity in the implementation and regulation of sports wagering is of critical importance. We had the discussion last week that we only get one shot to get this right, and we intend to do that,” Wells said.
She later added, “There’s interesting work to be done and we’re geared up and ready to proceed if that is the case.”
