\nThis doesn’t happen overnight,”<\/strong> said MGC Commissioner Bradford Hill. “We are going to do this right \u2026 and take our time.”<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nThe MGC has been preparing for legal sports betting for months. But the agency now tasked with regulating not only the state’s three commercial casinos, but also in-person and online sports betting, says the process of finalizing regulations and reviewing applications will not be rushed.<\/p>\n
That means the odds are quite long that a legal sportsbook in Massachusetts will begin taking wagers before the NFL regular season kicks off on September 8.<\/p>\n
2023 Launch Favored<\/b><\/h2>\n
The NFL is the most bet-on sport in the US, and that’s expected to be true in Massachusetts, where the New England Patriots call home. Oddsmakers would prefer to begin their operations ahead of the NFL regular season and take futures action on Super Bowl LVII, but that’s unlikely.<\/p>\n
\n
History shows that legalized sports betting takes time to implement. In the more than 30 states that have launched regulated sports betting, the average time from a bill passing and being signed by a governor to the first bet is around six months.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Though Massachusetts is expected to be on the shorter end of that average, the time line suggests that the first regulated wager won’t be placed until around the end of the year.<\/p>\n