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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — It's not the update football fans looking to place a legal wager in Massachusetts wanted to hear.
On Thursday, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission held an open meeting to being hammering out the rules and regulations for legal sports gambling in the Commonwealth. The state legislature passed a legal sports betting bill in August, but the MGC says the process to implement the marketplace will take a while.
"Our goal with this process is to make sure that such sports wagering is introduced correctly, operationally and legally, for the benefit of integrity and consumer protection. We accomplish this goal by working diligently to develop policy, establish a regulatory structure that equitably, fairly reviews [...] potential operators," MGC Chairwoman Cathy Judd-Stein said as the meeting opened.
With the 2022 NFL season starting the same day as the meeting, Judd-Stein acknowledged the Massachusetts public's anticipation to gamble on games.
"We know that the NFL kicks off tonight," Judd-Stein said. "And that, due to the nature of sports wagering, interest is piqued. We are rooting for the Pats. Our process will play out as it would have whenever this law came to the Gaming Commission to regulate and we will not compromise getting this right for anything. With that said, we also are aware of the import of timing."
In the meantime, if Massachusetts residents over 18 want to legally place a bet on a game, they will have to do so in nearby states New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.
WBZ's Jim MacKay (@JimMackayOnAir) reports.
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