Sports betting apps launch Friday in Massachusetts

by James · March 9, 2023

Today, with a phone in your pocket or a laptop on your desk, online sports betting for residents 21 and older is legal for the first time in Massachusetts. In-person sports betting, also for those 21 and over, was approved in January and is available at three Massachusetts casinos: Encore Boston Harbor, Plainridge Park and MGM Springfield.

Online betting is permitted for 18-year-olds in Montana, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Washington.

Now state-sanctioned sportsbooks can go live on Fridays and accept online bets. The state has already approved 10 sports betting licenses to date, and will allow 15 in total. Massachusetts also takes a 20% tax bite out of sports betting earnings; 15% of the income earned on personal sites.

How many downloadable apps are launching today?

Seven of the sportsbooks will launch on Friday: BetMGM Sportsbook App, WynnBet Sportsbook App, FanDuel Sportsbook App, DraftKings Sportsbook App, Caesars Sportsbook App, Barstool Sportsbook App and others. Some sportsbooks offer early download incentives to potential players whose promo codes can help secure your first bet from $1,000-$200 in free bets on early registration up to a $100 bonus bet on launch day.

Checking promo codes can be beneficial for online gamblers.

The betr app advertises itself as a microbe sportsbook that allows you to place bets on the minutiae of the game, from whether the next play will be a run or a pass, a foul or a three-pointer, i.e. ball, punt or dunk. The site is live and users can bet using tokens, which the app will convert into coins on Friday.

Two other approved sportsbooks, Fanatics and Bally Bet, are scheduled to launch in May.

Are all games and events eligible?

The state allows betting on everything from professional sports to water polo and everything in between. There are some exceptions: You cannot bet on the results of high school and youth games. In-state college teams are also excluded unless they play in a conference tournament or a national tournament (March Madness, National Invitation Tournament). Other exceptions are chess, corn hole, jai alai, and Olympic competitions, in which the winner is determined by judges.

All three casinos have already violated the state’s ban on collegiate teams and are under review by the state Gaming Commission’s Office of Investigation and Enforcement.

But everything else is fair game, even events that aren’t games — the Oscars, the Emmys, the Grammys, and your fantasy football and baseball leagues.

There is one caveat to college sports: Betting on in-state college teams is not allowed unless they are playing in a tournament.

For example, all Boston College regular season basketball games are off limits, at least for punters in Massachusetts. But you can bet on the team playing in March Madness or its conference tournament. You wouldn’t be able to bet on a Massachusetts college football team’s postseason run, either — unless it’s in the four-team College Football Playoff (but we probably don’t have to worry about that).