BetRivers Decides Against Sports Betting Market in Massachusetts

BetRivers Decides Against Entering Sports Betting Market in Massachusetts

Published: Jan 31, 2023

Updated: Jan 31, 2023

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BetRivers Sportsbook will not pursue a Massachusetts gaming license at this time.

BetRivers was expected by many to be a player in the Massachusetts sports betting market. Parent company Rush Street Interactive offers the BetRivers sports betting brand in 15 US states — Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia — as well as Ontario.

Suffolk Downs, a former thoroughbred horse racing track that now offers simulcasting, was expected to be BetRivers’ partner for market access in Massachusetts.

BetRivers submitted a Notice of Intent to compete in Massachusetts ahead of the August 31 deadline. However, that notice does not serve as an application. Rather, it was used by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to determine how many companies intended to compete for a Massachusetts retail or mobile license.

BetRivers declined a request from Gaming Today to comment on this story.

What’s Ahead for Sports Betting in Mass

News that BetRivers is not entering the Massachusetts gambling market comes on opening day for Massachusetts retail sportsbooks. Three sportsbooks opened within casinos on Tuesday, Jan. 31 under Category 1 licenses: WynnBET (partnered with Encore Boston Harbor), BetMGM (MGM Springfield), and Barstool Sportsbook (Plainridge Park Casino).

Online sports betting in Massachusetts is expected to go live in late February or early March, in time for March Madness 2023. No specific launch date has been announced for mobile betting in the state.

These mobile-only sportsbooks (which, under Category 3 licensing, do not have to partner with a casino or racetrack) have been approved by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission:

See the Tweets: Massachusetts Rings In Sports Betting as Retail Sportsbooks Open

photo by: Michael Sean OLeary

About the Author

Adam Carter

Adam Carter is a legislative writer at Gaming Today and has been published since 2017. He holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of South Florida, a Master of Arts in English from Indiana University, and a Juris Doctor from Notre Dame Law. Carter also writes for Great.com and currently resides in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he practices as an attorney and bemoans the local sports teams. His writing is also available in places such as Florida English Journal, The Rumpus, and Penumbra.