Massachusetts regulators are wrestling with the gap in the new sports betting legalization law.
What happened: The law allows for temporary licenses, but does not stamp them or stipulate how they should be awarded.
Why it matters: The NFL season is in full swing and fans are eager to place bets in Massachusetts, which will bring in tax revenue.
Details: Karen Wells, executive director of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, cautioned commissioners in a letter against issuing more temporary licenses than what they can issue permanently without a regulatory process in place.
By issuing an unlimited number of temporary licenses, everyone has a chance to compete and work through the issues when regulators decide who should stay, said Chris Cipolla, senior director of legal and governance affairs for the Boston-based Draft Kings, at a commission meeting Thursday. .
The other side: Many customers place bets months in advance, and those wagers will be difficult to arrange for temporary authorized sportsbooks that refused a permanent license, says Justin Smith, legal counsel for Bally’s Interactive.
Zoom out: More than 30 states and Washington, D.C., have legalized sports betting since the Supreme Court overturned a law that restricted it in 2018.
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