Mobile sports betting has finally arrived in Massachusetts, ending the long wait.

Online sportsbook operators went live with their goods today, Friday, at 10 a.m., around 40 days after legalized sports betting debuted at the Bay State’s three casinos and just days before the NCAA Tournament begins next week.

On January 31, in-person wagering began at Encore Boston Harbor, Plainridge Park Casino, and MGM Springfield. On August 10, 2022, then-governor Charlie Baker signed the Sports Wagering Act into law, making the practice legal.

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On Friday, six sports betting applications went live: Caesars Sportsbook, BetMGM Sportsbook, WynnBET, Barstool Sportsbook, FanDuel, and DraftKings.

Although the Massachusetts Gaming Commission had granted licenses to ten mobile sportsbooks, not all of them participated in the state’s first day of legal betting.

Fanatics and Bally Bet will not launch in the Commonwealth until May, while Betway will not go live until the first quarter of 2024. PointsBet informed market regulators in February that it had left the market.

Insiders and people who work in the industry think that Massachusetts will be one of the most competitive and profitable places to bet online in the U.S.

Legislators think that the initial licensing fees, which must be paid every five years, could cost between $70 million and $80 million if sports betting is legalized. Individuals must be 21 or older to bet.

The Massachusetts law on sports betting puts a 15% tax on bets made in person and a 20% tax on bets made on a mobile phone.

High Barrier to Entering the Massachusetts Sports Betting Market 

But there are a lot of barriers to entry, like an annual fee of $1 million per operator. Even though they have to pay a lot, betting companies in the Bay State were hopeful on Friday after their long-awaited start.

DraftKings and other operators, including FanDuel and BetMGM, spent tens of thousands of dollars advocating for the legalization of sports betting in Massachusetts.

In the summer, the legislature enacted a law legalizing sports betting, making Massachusetts the 36th state to do so. Today, the company and its competitors spend hundreds of dollars on ads and bonus bets in the state to bring in new customers.

Victor Matheson, a sports economist at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, told WBUR that after Friday’s inauguration, around 90 percent of sports wagers may be placed online and that approximately $5 billion worth of sports wagers could be placed annually in Massachusetts.

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