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After deliberation spanned several days and many hours, Penn Sports Interactive (PSI) has a temporary Massachusetts sports betting license.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission unanimously voted to approve the company’s application for a Category 3 license on Wednesday.
The license award comes with some conditions, however. They are very similar to the conditions placed on the temporary licensure for Penn’s land-based operation in the state, Plainridge Park Casino.
Massachusetts sports betting gets another online operator
Penn Sports s the ranks of Category 3 licensees awaiting a potential launch date in Massachusetts. Other future online sportsbooks with similar licenses are BetMGM, Caesars, and WynnBet.
Category 3 licenses are for online sportsbooks that are “tethered” to physical gambling establishments in Massachusetts. For PSI, that’s Plainridge Park.
Penn Entertainment, which PSI is a subsidiary of, also operates that slot parlor in Plainville.
Plainridge Park secured its Category 1 license in late December. At the time, regulators attached unique conditions to that award. PSI must satisfy those same conditions in order to see regulators remove the temporary tag from its Cat 3 license as well.
Path to permanent licensure in Massachusetts
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission attached the potential award of a permanent license, as well as the maintenance of the temporary license, to Penn satisfying five conditions. They are:
- That PSI take action to ensure that no one under the age of 21 attends Barstool College Football live shows
- That PSI cooperates fully with investigators looking into the branding arrangement between Barstool and PSI
- PSI must keep Massachusetts regulators advised of any developments pertaining to an outstanding civil lawsuit in Illinois
- That PSI provides updates on its diversity goals for its vendor utilization
- The same as above but for Penn’s own workforce
For the time being, there is no firm timeline for when online sports betting might begin in Massachusetts. The official rough timeline is March 2023.
Between now and then, Penn will be making preparations and undergoing further inspections.
