Massachusetts Sports Betting Timeline Remains Uncertain After Legalization

Ever since the latest Massachusetts sports bill was signed into law by the governor, the entire Northeast portion of the United States has basically been waiting to see when everything would be officially up and running. More than a week later, though, Massachusetts sports betting remains without a timeline.

Anyone who's overly concerned needn't worry too much. There will still be sports betting in Massachusetts at some point. Governor Charlie Baker made sure of that as soon as the bill gained the support necessary for him to adopt it as a law.

This uncertainty isn't exactly unusual, either. Plenty of other states have grappled with how and when they would be able to roll out legal sports betting after they initially gave it the green light. The process takes time—often loads of it.

But that's only truly comforting when states tether themselves to exact dates and timelines. To this point, Massachusetts sports betting doesn't have one. And that invariably leads people to wonder what the state is doing to change the status quo.

In this case, we have the answer.

Massachusetts Sports Betting Commission Meeting in Hopes of Hashing Out Timeline

In an attempt to hash out a concrete timeline for the implementation of legal sports, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) will begin holding a series of roundtables on Thursday, August 18. These meetings will be aimed at negotiating different stages of the legalization process and will also seek to hear updates and input from the state's three casinos and simulcasting facilities about how they are prepping to install their brick-and-mortar sports betting operations.

If you think all parties involved will emerge from the first or even the second meeting with a date for the start of Massachusetts sports betting, we have some bad news for you: That's now how this works.

This process is expected to require a bunch of hours-long meetings that seek to cover sports betting protocol from top-to-bottom. In fact, early indications are that the roundtables will be broken up into five different stages. According to MassLive.com, the "conversation will first turn to presentations from each entity on their initial preparations for in-person sports wagering." And once that's done, the "discussion will focus on operational considerations like staffing, house rules, security, equipment and technology, and any challenges that have already been identified."

But wait! There's more. From there, the  "commission and the stakeholders will then cover licensing procedures for operators and vendors." And upon wrapping that portion up, attention will turn to best practices for "responsible gaming, advertising, and marketing guidelines."

Finally, after all that, Massachusetts will then look to set a specific date for the rollout of legal sports betting.

Is There a Chance Massachusetts Speeds Up the Sports Betting Process?

Don't hold your breath here.

As governor Charlie Baker has noted ad nauseam, he is allowing the MGC to cast a wide net when it comes to controlling the debut of Massachusetts sports betting. The state wants to make sure they begin the legal wagering era without a hitch and avoids any potential conflicts like we've seen in Florida (where sports betting was repealed) or Ohio (delays upon delays). This stance almost guarantees the MGC will take their time and prioritize thoroughness over any urgency to get the sports betting system available to the public.

In particular, the committee is expected to expend ample energy perfecting how they establish and monitor the mobile gaming system. There are projected to be a ton of applications from all the big-time online sportsbooks, as well as some smaller and newer players in the industry. With an emphasis on responsible gaming, the MGC has also identified more than 200 different rules and regulations they want to implement before mobile and online sports betting can go live.

So...When Will Massachusetts Sports Betting Go Live?

Certain optimists are holding out hope that we could see Massachusetts sports betting by the end of 2022, perhaps in time for the start of the NFL playoffs. We're going to be brutally honest: We don't see that happening.

Based on how much work the MGC has outlined when it comes to setting up the online gaming infrastructure, the state will be lucky to have everything in place and available to residents by the start of 2023. And even that may be a much too rosy projection. After all, at this writing, the beginning of 2023 is less than six months away. Other states have taken as long as 18 to 24 months to set up their legal betting systems.

Prospective bettors in Massachusetts are much better off hoping they can actually bet on the 2023 NFL season...two Septembers from now. Apologies if this comes across as crass or depressing. We don't mean to sound like the Grim Reaper. We're just keeping it real.

Of course, there are still ways to bet on sports in Massachusetts. Our reviews of the top online sportsbooks feature a vast number of sites that will accept wagers from people who reside in any state. Using any one of them can help you bide the time between now and whenever Massachusetts sports betting goes live–which, again, realistically looks like it'll be in the middle to the later part of 2023.

Take a look at this list of the top online sportsbooks so you can find one that works for all of your sports betting needs: