MGC Approves BetWay for Sports Betting License

Digital Gaming corporation has been approved to operate in Massachusetts as Betway after receiving its temporary license on Tuesday. Betway paid its $ 1 million fee for licensing, requested that the MGC (Massachusetts Gaming Commission) review its license, and was approved.

Along with five other companies in Massachusetts, Betway will be a mobile-only operator with no partnership with a land-based operator in the state. Betway will be one of three operators not to launch on the Mar. 10 Massachusetts online launch. The other two are Bally Bet and fanatics. 

Seven operators will launch online for the Mar. 10 launch. Those include Barstool, BetMGM, FanDuel, Betr, Caesars, and DraftKings. Currently, three digital licenses are left in Massachusetts, two that stand alone and another that would require a partnership with MGM Springfield Casino.

Mar. 10 Launch on Schedule

The MGC Executive Director, Karen Wells, shared Wednesday that the state and all operators planning for the Mar. 10 launch are on track. With seven operators ready to go live, they will need to get their licenses by Mar. 9. 

For the retail launch, all three licenses were issued the day before the Jan. 31 retail launch. That is also the expectation for all seven mobile operators. There will be three that do not launch on the Mar. 10 date; Bally Bet and Fanatics have said they plan to launch later in 2023, and Betway is anticipating a 2024 launch. 

The launch is coming at an exciting time, with March Madness coming just days afterward. While betting on in-state college teams is not allowed generally, Massachusetts bettors will be allowed to bet on in-state college teams if they are participating in the NCAA Tournament. 

MGC Gives the OK for 72-Hour Cooling Off Period

The MGC voted Wednesday to allow for a 72-hour cooling off period for the self-exclusion list instead of a minimum 6-month time period. Consumers will be able to ban themselves for 72 hours from individual operators. This will allow users to "cool off" and is a break from the industry standard use of the self-exclusion.