Massachusetts Is Reopening Its Sports Betting License Pool — Here’s Who Might Get In

Massachusetts has one of the more closely watched sports betting markets in the country, and on April 9, 2026, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission made a move that could reshape it. The MGC voted unanimously — 5-0 — to reopen the application process for online sports betting licenses, more than three years after the Bay State first launched legal wagering in January 2023. The trigger was a request from bet365, the U.K.-based sportsbook giant, which wants a shot at the Massachusetts market it previously walked away from. What follows could be a competitive licensing race that brings several new books to a state already running seven active operators.

Why This Is Happening Now

Bet365 has a complicated history with Massachusetts. The company initially partnered with Raynham Park, a simulcast-wagering facility south of Boston, as a pathway to a so-called “tethered” license — one that requires an operator to partner with a physical venue. But bet365 pulled back before the 2023 launch, ultimately withdrawing its application entirely in January of that year. Since then, the company has expanded aggressively across the U.S., now operating in 16 states including Illinois, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and the more recently launched Missouri market. With that footprint established, Massachusetts looks considerably more attractive. Bet365 reached back out to the MGC and formally requested that the application window be reopened.

Commission Chair Jordan Maynard framed the decision in terms of the current regulatory landscape. “It’s been two years since the full launch,” he said at the April 9 meeting. “It makes sense that we look at these open licenses. I’m heartened that people want to come in when prediction markets, which we definitely don’t allow, want to enter for sports betting.” That last point is significant — the MGC has been explicit that it does not permit prediction market platforms, and the wave of national interest in those products may actually be pushing traditional sportsbooks to lock in licensed positions in regulated states before those platforms gain further regulatory traction.

What Licenses Are Actually Available

Massachusetts law allows up to 16 mobile sports betting licenses in total: six tethered to land-based casinos, three tethered to racetracks, and seven untethered (meaning they require no physical venue partnership). Of the current seven active operators — BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, FanDuel, Fanatics Sportsbook, theScore Bet, and Bally Bet — some are tethered to existing casino or racetrack deals. The result is that four untethered mobile licenses remain available, along with several tethered licenses. The untethered licenses are the more valuable ones for standalone online sportsbooks, since they don’t require operators to negotiate revenue-sharing terms or access deals with physical partners.

If more applicants emerge than there are available untethered licenses, the MGC has acknowledged it would need to create a competitive evaluation process — something that doesn’t currently exist in state regulation or statute. The commission has indicated it will first post a “Notice of Intent” to assess how much interest is actually out there before committing to a full application process. That gauging period could take several months, and any actual new competitive evaluation framework would require regulatory drafting that adds additional time to the timeline.

Who Else Might Apply

Bet365 is the name that kicked off this entire conversation and is widely considered the leading candidate for one of the available licenses. Beyond that, the names that have surfaced in industry discussions include BetRivers (the Rush Street Gaming brand, which has a strong presence in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic) and Hard Rock Bet, which has been expanding its sportsbook footprint and has brand recognition that could translate well in a mature, competitive market like Massachusetts.

Commissioner Eileen O’Brien raised a reasonable note of caution at the April 9 meeting, questioning whether reopening applications without first completing an economic impact study was premature. Massachusetts already has seven operators serving a population of roughly 7 million — a market that some analysts have described as saturated. The commission acknowledged that concern but pressed forward anyway, with the view that posting a notice of intent doesn’t obligate them to issue any licenses, it just gives them information about what demand actually looks like.

What This Could Mean for MA Bettors

If you’re betting in Massachusetts right now, the immediate takeaway is that more competition is potentially coming — and more competition almost always benefits the bettor. More books fighting for your handle generally means better odds, more generous promotions, and a wider range of markets. Bet365 in particular has a reputation for offering sharper lines than most of the current Massachusetts operators, so its entry alone would apply pricing pressure across the board. The timeline to any new operator going live is measured in months at minimum — and potentially well into 2027 given the regulatory process — but the door is now officially open. Watch for the MGC’s Notice of Intent publication, which will be the next concrete signal about how many potential applicants are in play and how quickly this process will move.