With a successful launch of retail sports betting on Jan. 31, Massachusetts looks forward to the debut of online sports betting in late February or early March. That process includes the licensure of sports betting vendors, and two of the leading companies achieved that status this week.
Both Sportradar and Genius Sports were granted temporary sports betting vendor licenses by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission on Tuesday. Each company will be crucial in assisting partners with technological requirements for serving online MA sports betting apps.
Temporary licenses signify the regulatory body has certified the vendor, but an active official license is still pending. Typically the sports betting vendor license is granted in the days before a launch of a market. Massachusetts is poised to become the latest state to open online sports betting.
Genius Sports, which has its headquarters in London, provides official sports data to sportsbook partners. Through their technology and partnerships with professional sports leagues (such as the NFL), Genius Sports funnels game data and real-time stats to sports betting operators. Massachusetts will be the 41st license that the company has been granted in North America.
Swiss-based Sportradar delivers data and betting technology solutions to its partners in the US and Canada. Sportradar has agreements in place with more than 4o jurisdictions in North America, according to its website. Their partners include Major League Baseball, NASCAR, the NBA, and NHL.
According to a press release this week announcing the temporary license in Massachusetts, Sportradar values “transparency and integrity and delivering accurate sports data to sports betting and gaming agencies.”
What Comes Next?
Massachusetts launched retail sports betting at three casino-based locations on Tuesday, Jan. 31. The state will open its online sports betting market by March, following a live demo by operators, which will include FanDuel, DraftKings, and Caesars.
Bettors in the state can wager on Super Bowl 57 at those retail locations, which are Encore Boston Harbor, MGM Springfield, Plainridge Park Casino.
