MGC Set to Schedule Review of Caesars Sportsbook at Raynham Park

MA Gaming Commission MA horse racing Massachusetts sports betting News Sports Betting
Written By Matthew Bain on February 21, 2023 – Last Updated on February 23, 2023
Massachusetts Gaming Commission to schedule review of Raynham Park's application to open a Caesars Sportsbook, from play-ma.com
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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.

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Photo by AP Photo/Elise Amendola
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Matthew Bain

Matthew Bain started as Content Manager at Play MA in 2022. Before that, he spent six years as a sports reporter and then deputy sports editor for the Des Moines Register, during which time he won nine statewide journalism awards, including the Genevieve Mauck Stoufer Outstanding Young Iowa Journalists Award. As deputy sports editor, Matthew oversaw the Register’s recruiting coverage while also innovating the outlet’s high school sports coverage. Matthew graduated from San Diego State and grew up in California, but he’s somehow a Boston Celtics fan. Long story. Matthew also led coverage of Prop 26 vs. Prop 27 in the California sports betting election battle for Catena Media.

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