After this week, we’ll be one step closer to a Caesars Sportsbook Massachusetts opening at Raynham Park.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission will discuss scheduling its review of Raynham Park’s retail sports betting application during its meeting this Thursday, according to the agenda. The next meeting after this Thursday is a public hearing on Feb. 28, although that agenda is pretty crowded.
So, in all likelihood, the MGC will begin discussion of Raynham Park’s Caesars Sportsbook application in March.
The Caesars Sportsbook Massachusetts at Raynham Park would be the fourth retail sportsbook in Massachusetts. It would join Encore Boston Harbor’s WynnBET Sportsbook, MGM Springfield’s BetMGM Sportsbook, and Plainridge Park Casino’s Barstool Sportsbook. Only one further retail sportsbook — at Suffolk Downs — can open, under current law.
Raynham Park, located in Bristol County, just more than 30 miles south of Boston, is one of two licensed horse racing simulcast facilities in Massachusetts authorized to host sports betting. (Suffolk Downs is the other.) It held greyhound racing until 2010, when the state banned greyhound racing. It has served as a simulcast facility ever since.
Plans for a retail Caesars Sportsbook call for a 30,000-square-foot sportsbook location completed by the middle of 2023. Until then, there would be temporary sportsbook in Raynham Park’s simulcast facility.
READ MORE: 17 Questions, 17 Days Before Online Sportsbooks Launch in Massachusetts
Other Items on the MGC’s Feb. 23 Agenda
- Commissioners will discuss marketing affiliates for sports betting.
- Discussion of at least one unauthorized bet on Harvard college basketball happening at the BetMGM Massachusetts at MGM Springfield.
- Commissioners will vote on MGM Springfield’s SER exemption request.
- Quarterly update regarding GameSense, Massachusetts’ responsible gaming strategy.
- Commissioners will finalize online sports betting licenses for all Category 3 operators (DraftKings, FanDuel, PointsBet, Bally Bet, Betr, and Betway).
- 2021 unpaid horse betting winnings updates from Raynham Park, Suffolk Downs, Wonderland Park, and Plainridge Racecourse.
