For state’s bettors, Friday is Super Bowl
Seven months to the day that NCAA President Charlie Baker signed the Massachusetts Sports Wagering Act, those over 21 located inside the Bay State will be able to legally bet online or via their phones Friday starting at 10 a.m. across six different websites.
The Bay State Six are: FanDuel, DraftKings, Barstool, BetMGM, Caesars, and WynnBET. They should receive their certificates of operation today.
Jake Paul’s bet was to be the seventh. But it will not go live Massachusetts this week, MGC chair Cathy Stein said Wednesday.
The journey through Oz is a stroll compared to this ride.
Single-game parlays replace ruby red shoes. The Cowardly Lion’s cousins are +2500 to win the Super Bowl. And Toto is just another underdog.
And who needs a brainless Scarecrow when some state gaming regulators cannot define a point spread or money line?
Thanks to opening meeting laws, the Wizard had no curtain.
In my other life as a senior betting analyst for bookies.com (shameless plug alert), I was tasked with observing virtually the unpleasant parts of the betting animal were smushed together to form something palatable over the course of 70-something meetings since summer.
The mission is nearly accomplished. A sort-of ban on in-state college betting has resulted in four instances of self-reported illegal bets at the state’s three retail books since Jan. 31. The betting catalog needs to be revised to include judged sports: see Olympic skating. Unanswered questions surround Raynham Park and Suffolk Downs.
But responsible gaming and consumer protection has been the top priority.
Overall, a solid B+ effort.
Only the dead have been spared the tsunami of advertisements from the sportsbooks and their bonus offers. My Twitter feed is guilty as charged.
Billions of dollars are at stake. FanDuel’s GM — Online Karol Corcoran told me Tuesday he believes Massachusetts could be one of the top five sports betting states in the U.S. a year from now.
And home turf is a wicked big deal.
DraftKings and Barstool have Bay State DNA. BetMGM announced a partnership deal with the Red Sox on Tuesday. No word if they will rename Fenway Park “The Lion’s Den.” FanDuel has teamed up with NESN to sponsor Red Sox and Bruins game day telecasts.
CEO Jason Robins and his partners created DraftKings in Watertown a decade ago. In an onlyin-Massachusetts moment, Robins will headline DraftKings’ “ceremonial bet celebration” in Boston featuring an actual Duck Boat on Friday morning. It won’t feature an actual bet from Robins on the DraftKings app because state regulations prohibit employees and officers of sports books from betting on their own sites.
David Portnoy started Barstool Sports as a free betting newspaper in Greater Boston in 2002. The final 60% of Barstool Sports was purchased by Penn Entertainment for $387 million in a twostep deal that closed last month.
Not a bad return for El Presidente.
“When I started Barstool 20 years ago, I just wanted to wake up and not hate my job. That was the only plan. But certainly, when sports gambling became legal 5 years ago I thought Barstool could be a big player in this space,” Portnoy told me via email this week.
The Supreme Court removed the federal ban on sports betting in 2018. Massachusetts is surrounded by a digital sports betting wall on four sides, with Vermont offering ice cream and watered-down socialism on its fifth.
Betting’s arrival in Massachusetts was delayed, but inevitable. Portnoy’s hometown pitch is solid.
“Barstool was born here. We have deep roots here. We’ve been a fabric of Boston for the last 2 decades though all the ups and downs. You want to bet with people you know and are authentic,” he wrote. “We have been the pulse of the Boston sports fan for 20 years. We aren’t a bunch of suits or out-of-towners. When people think Barstool, they think Massachusetts. No other site can say that.”
One of those “out-oftowners” is Corcoran. The FanDuel executive came to the U.S. via Ireland and Scotland. Brace yourselves, Corcoran converted to Yankees and Bills fandom after moving to New York State.
FanDuel is the nation’s largest sports betting site in terms of market share and handle. It has Gronk as a spokesman, who is now 0-for-1 in live Super Bowl kicks.
Corcoran knows that, despite FanDuel’s size, it’s a road underdog in Massachusetts.
How can it break through when Barstool, BetMGM, and WynnBET are already on the ground at the state’s three casinos and DraftKings has its world HQ in Back Bay?
“It’s something that we’re talking a lot about in the office. Credit to those operators, they’re going to bring their Agame to Massachusetts, and we look forward to competing with them. What gives us confidence is our performance in recently launched states such as Ohio and Maryland, where we’ve taken a leadership position,” Corcoran said. “Boston is a tight community. People know of and are proud of DraftKings, and rightly so. But we back ourselves as America’s number one. We are the most popular sportsbook. And I think when customers in Massachusetts try our offering, they’ll like what they see. And that’s all we can do.”
Gronk’s Super Bowl “Kick of Destiny” sailed wide left. Corcoran does not see that as an omen for Massachusetts.
“Gronk was almost America’s most famous kicker,” he said. “Our relationship with Gronk has really propelled our brand to cut through. We hope Gronk will resonate with the people of Massachusetts. He is a hero for the Patriots fans, and rightly so.”
What happened with the kick?
“It’s very windy in the desert is what happened. He was so frustrated. That day in practice he went 8-for-8. But these things happen. Live TV is difficult,” he said.
Finding the sports betting yellow brick road won’t be any easier.