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Fanatics Sportsbook plans to launch in Massachusetts at the end of May after receiving final clearance today from state gaming regulators in Boston.
Massachusetts Gaming Commission Sports Wagering Director Bruce Band reported the expected launch date at a Tuesday meeting of the commission before commissioners voted to award Fanatics official certification to operate in the Commonwealth. Band told the commission last week that Fanatics was expected to launch this week, but revised that expectation in comments to the commission Tuesday.
“They’ve indicated that they would start operations at the end of this month,” Band announced at the meeting.
A certificate of operations and a sports betting license are both required to operate a sportsbook in Massachusetts, in addition to other types of regulatory compliance.
Massachusetts a First for Fanatics’ Mobile App
Massachusetts will be the first official online launch for Fanatics. The Florida-based sportsbook also has an online launch pending in Ohio and is in a beta testing phase in Tennessee. It opened the first retail sportsbook in an NFL stadium at Maryland’s FedExField (Washington Commanders) in Jan. 2023.
Fanatics will be Massachusetts’ eighth live online sportsbook behind Betr — a micro-betting app now live in Ohio and Massachusetts following its launch in the commonwealth last week. Also expected to launch in the state are BallyBet and Betway, which the Massachusetts Gaming Commission qualified for online sports betting licenses early this year.
BallyBet is expected to launch in the coming weeks, according to the MGC. Betway announced several weeks ago that it is delaying its launch until 2024.
Another online sportsbook that the MGC had approved for licensing was PointsBet, although that company withdrew its licensing application in February. Fanatics and PointsBet announced on Sunday that Fanatics plans to buy the Australia-based sportsbook in a $150 million deal.
More Sportsbooks, More Revenue for Massachusetts?
Adding Fanatics and Betr to the Bay State market could generate more revenue for what has become a very competitive — and lucrative — sports betting state since it launched retail and online sportsbooks earlier this year.
The latest sports betting numbers reported by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) show the overall sportsbook handle remained high in April at $579.2 million, increasing a modest two percent over the total handle in March.
Online sportsbooks are the clear choice for most Massachusetts sports bettors with six online licensees generating about 98 percent of the state’s total sports betting handle in April — an increase of about one percent over March.
Boston-based DraftKings remains the apparent favorite among online sports bettors in the state, claiming about 50 percent of the commonwealth’s April online handle of $566.2 million with a 10.2 percent hold. FanDuel came in second at $172.6 million in handle with a 12.8 percent hold. Taxable revenue from both sportsbooks totaled around $50 million for the month.
Middle performers in the online market and their April handle was:
- BetMGM (tethered to MGM Springfield casino): $42.9 million
- Barstool (tethered to Plainridge Park Casino): $24.5 million
Coming in last in Massachusetts online handle for April was Caesars. One of two apps (WynnBet and Caesars) partnered with Encore Boston Harbor Wynn Resort casino, the Caesars app generated $19.4 million in handle in the last month at 8.66 percent hold. WynnBet has the second-lowest handle at $22.8 million at a 2.03 percent hold.
Other sportsbooks hoping to compete in the online market soon are BallyBet (expected to launch in the coming weeks) and Betway, which is delaying its Massachusetts launch until 2024.
Retail Handle Down in Mass
Retail sports betting handle is down significantly since the commonwealth’s three casinos launched their in-person sportsbooks on Jan. 31. In-person handle decreased nearly 48 percent from a total of $24.4 million in February to $13.02 million in April, dropping less dramatically between February and March (19 percent).
That makes online sportsbooks the top source of sports betting tax revenue in Massachusetts with $21 million in tax revenue generated by the six online apps in two months.
Overall state revenue generated by retail and online sports betting in Massachusetts totals approximately $21.5 million year to date based on a 15 percent tax on retail and 20 percent on online revenue.
