You Can Bet On These 69 Sports At Massachusetts Sportsbooks

Welcome to the era of legal sports betting, Massachusetts.

When the frenzy of March Madness betting ends, and especially once we get to the dog days of summer, Massachusetts gamblers may start wondering: What sports can I bet on in Massachusetts? That’s where Play MA comes in.

Play MA combed through the sports wagering catalog created by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission and identified these 69 sports. Every single one of these sports, and their associated leagues, is fair game for MA sports betting.

Obviously, sports such as football, basketball, baseball and soccer are included.

But … have you heard of snooker? Handball? Pesäpillo? Those are all legal in the Commonwealth, too.

Click Play Now next to your sportsbook of choice below if you want to get started and take advantage of lucrative Massachusetts sportsbook promos. Then dive into our list of the 69 sports you can bet on.

What sports can I bet on in Massachusetts?

Here’s a quick look at your 69 betting options.

Australian rules football

Extremely similar to rugby, Australian rules football involves two nine-player teams trying to kick an oval ball through three posts on either end of the field. It’s a heavy contact sport, except the players don’t wear pads.

In Massachusetts, you’re allowed to bet on the Australian Football League.

Auto racing

Massachusetts bettors can gamble on a variety of racing competitions involving four-wheel automobiles:

• NASCAR Xfinity Series
• NASCAR Cup Series
• NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
• IndyCar
• USAC
• NHRA
• SRX
• FIA

Badminton

Badminton is a racket sport, and it can be singles or doubles. It’s like a blend of tennis and volleyball, where each player tries to make a shuttlecock hit the ground on their opponent’s side of the net.

Residents of Massachusetts can bet on Badminton World Federation competitions and Olympic badminton.

Baseball

There’s a long list of baseball betting options approved in Massachusetts, including MLB, Triple-A, NCAA, the World Baseball Classic, Northwoods League, and leagues in Korea, Japan, China, Mexico and the Caribbean.

RELATED: Betting On The World Baseball Classic In Massachusetts

Basketball

Obviously, betting on NBA and WNBA games is allowed. But so, too, is betting on any FIBA-sanctioned professional league, as well as Big3, The Basketball Tournament and Euroleague Basketball.

You can also bet on college basketball in Massachusetts. However, gambling on in-state colleges is restricted to tournaments only.

Beach soccer

Beach soccer is soccer … on a beach. Beach Soccer Worldwide has events around the world that Massachusetts residents can bet on, if MA online sportsbooks offer odds.

Beach volleyball

Beyond Olympic beach volleyball, MA bettors can also wager on AVP and FIVB events, as well as NCAA beach volleyball. No Massachusetts schools have beach volleyball teams, so you don’t have to worry about in-state restrictions here.

Biathlon

You can bet on biathlons in the Olympics. The International Biathlon Union also runs sanctioned events around the world.

A biathlon is a winter sport that involves cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It’s a race to see who can finish both events first.

Bobsleigh

Beyond the Winter Olympics, MA bettors can also gamble on bobsleigh competitions sanctioned by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation.

Bowling

Massachusetts residents can gamble on any bowling competition sanctioned by the Professional Bowlers Association.

Bowls

No, “bowls” does not refer to college football bowl games.

Bowls is lawn bowling. Yes, professional lawn bowling. The bowling balls are smaller — slightly larger than a softball.

Bowls has a different objective than bowling. There are no pins. Rather, players try to roll their ball as close to a target as possible. Scoring is done in the same manner as shuffleboard. In singles, the first player to reach 21 shots, or points, wins. In doubles, it’s first to 25.

Massachusetts gamblers can bet on bowls events sanctioned by the Professional Bowls Association and World Bowls.

ALSO READ: These Are The Types Of Prop Bets You Can’t Make In Massachusetts

Boxing

In Massachusetts, you can bet on boxing competitions sanctioned by any of 16 boxing governing bodies, including the World Boxing Association, World Boxing Organization and International Boxing Federation.

Boxing matches in the Summer Olympics are fair game, too.

Cricket

Although it has never caught on in the US, cricket — somewhat similar to baseball — is one of the most popular sports in the world. Australia, India and England are well-known for their national cricket teams.

Massachusetts gamblers can bet on any cricket competition sanctioned by the International Cricket Council.

Cycling

Beyond cycling events in the Summer Olympics, you can also bet on cycling competitions sanctioned by the UCI — including the Tour de France.

Darts

Massachusetts residents can bet on professional darts competitions sanctioned by the British Darts Organisation, MODUS, Professional Darts Corporation and World Darts Federation.

Disc

Disc is another name for ultimate frisbee, which is a combination of football and soccer using a frisbee. The American Ultimate Disc League is the foremost authority on ultimate frisbee, and its events can be wagered on in Massachusetts.

READ MORE: 3 Things I Learned From Massachusetts February Sports Betting Revenue

Field hockey

Field hockey is, you guessed it, hockey played on a field. So it’s pretty similar to lacrosse.

It’s an Olympic sport, but MA bettors can also gamble on field hockey competitions sanctioned by the International Hockey Federation.

Floorball

Floorball is super similar to field hockey, except it’s played on an indoor hard surface. Translation: Floorball is to field hockey as indoor soccer is to regular soccer — in a nutshell. You can bet on anything run by the International Floorball Federation in Massachusetts.

Football

By football, we mean American football. NFL betting is dominant in the US. But Massachusetts residents can also bet on football games in the CFL, USFL, IFL and XFL, as well as college football games not involving a MA school (unless that MA school makes the College Football Playoff.)

GUIDE: Betting On The New England Patriots

Futsal

Futsal is indoor soccer, played with five players (including the goalie) on each side. It’s played with a smaller, harder and less bouncy fall than traditional outdoor soccer.

FIFA actually governs futsal, too, so any futsal event sanctioned by FIFA is fair game for Massachusetts bettors.

Golf

Any golf competitions run by the PGA are legal for betting in Massachusetts. So are the four majors — the Masters, US Open, British Open and PGA Championship — plus the Match Series and Olympic golf.

Interestingly, LIV Golf events are not listed in the MA sports betting catalog.

Handball

Handball is not the playground sport you played as a kid at school.

It’s a fast-paced indoor version of lacrosse where players try to throw a ball into the other team’s goal. Each team has seven players (including the goalie). You can bet on handball in the Olympics, as well as on any handball competition sanctioned by the International Handball Federation or European Handball Federation.

Ice hockey

Betting on the NHL and the Boston Bruins is already hugely popular in Massachusetts. But gamblers in the state can also bet on ice hockey in the Winter Olympics, as well as AHL games, competitions run by the International Ice Hockey Federation  and college hockey games — following the same in-state college betting restrictions as any other sport.

OTHER MARCH MADNESS: 3 MA Teams Make The Men’s Ice Hockey NCAA Tournament

Lacrosse

College lacrosse is the most popular lacrosse in the US, and for US betting. However, the National Lacrosse League, Premier Lacrosse League and World Lacrosse also run competitions you can bet on in Massachusetts.

Luge

Beyond the Winter Olympics, Massachusetts residents can also place luge bets on events sanctioned by the International Luge Federation.

MMA

Massachusetts bettors can bet on a wide range of mixed martial arts competitions, including:

• UFC
• Bellator
• PFL
• Cage Warriors
• LFA
• ONE Championship
• ABCCS
• KSW
• Invicta Fighting Championship
• Spectation Sports

Motorcycle racing

Compared to auto racing, the betting options for motorcycle racing in Massachusetts are more limited. Only competitions sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme are currently allowed to be wagered on in MA.

Netball

Netball is very similar to basketball, except it has two teams of seven players and it’s exclusively a women sport.

There is no dribbling in netball, and players can only hold the ball for three seconds before either passing or shooting. A netball court is the same width as a basketball court, but it’s 6 feet longer.

Massachusetts residents can bet on ANZ Premiership in New Zealand and Super Netball in Australia.

Olympics

Massachusetts bettors cannot bet on Olympic sports that involve judging in any capacity. All other Olympic events are fair game.

Here’s a list of all the Summer and Winter Olympic sports MA residents can bet on that aren’t otherwise mentioned in this story:

• 3×3 basketball
• Archery
• Canoe
• Cross country skiing
• Curling
• Fencing
• Judo
• Karate
• Nordic combined
• Pentathlon
• Rifle shooting
• Rugby sevens
• Ski jump
• Ski mountaineering
• Snowboarding
• Sport climbing
• Taekwondo
• Triathlon
• Weightlifting
• Wrestling

Pesäpallo

Pesäpallo is the national sport of Finland, and is commonly referred to as Finnish baseball.

A game consists of two periods of four innings each. If the game is tied after both periods, there’s an extra inning to decide the winner. Much of the rules are the same or similar to baseball. Here are a couple differences:

• Any hits that land beyond the backline are considered outs. So all home runs are inside-the-park homers.
• Catching the ball in mid-air is not an out. But it forces all runners to attempt to advance to the next base, and if they’re thrown out, then an out is recorded.
• If the bases are empty, just one ball causes a walk. If there are runners on base, that jumps to two balls.

Massachusetts gamblers can bet on Finnish Superpesis games.

Pool

Massachusetts residents can bet on any competitions sanctioned by the World Pool Billiard Association.

Professional eating

Can you bet on Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest and other events sanctioned by Major League Eating? Yes.

Did we just include eating in this list of sports? Yes.

Rodeo

Yes, you can bet on the rodeo in Massachusetts. As long as it’s an event put on by PBR or the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.

Rowing

Beyond Olympic rowing and NCAA rowing, Massachusetts gamblers can also bet on rowing competitions in the University Boat Race league.

Rugby League

Rugby League is one of two versions of rugby. It’s slightly less popular than Rugby Union.

Rugby League has 13 players on each side, and teams are allowed up to 10 substitutions. A League pitch is also smaller than a Union pitch. The two versions also differ in points given for tries, conversions, penalties and drop goals.

Any competitions put on by the International Rugby League are fair game for MA bettors.

Rugby Union

Rugby Union has 15 players on each side with up to eight substitutions allowed, and the pitch is bigger than League.

Union is generally thought of to be more action-packed, but at the end of the day, both versions are rugby.

In Massachusetts, you can bet on any Rugby Union matches sanctioned by World Rugby and SANZAAR.

Sailing

You can gamble on the Olympics and the Americas Cup, as well as races in the Prada Cup Challenger Selection Series.

Skeleton

Skeleton is similar to luge, except the competitor is lying flat on their stomach, face forward.

Beyond the Winter Olympics, MA bettors can also gamble on skeleton competitions sanctioned by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation.

Skiing

Skiing in the Olympics will be a popular betting option in Massachusetts. But events sanctioned by the International Ski Federation, including the FIS World Cup and Four Hills Tournament, are also legal for Massachusetts gambling.

Snooker

Snooker is very similar to billiards, but a snooker table is slightly larger than a pool table. Snooker also involves 15 red numberless balls, six numbered object balls of different colors and one white cue ball.

The 21 non-cue balls have different values depending on their color. Snooker is played in a series of frames, and you win a frame if you score more points than your opponent.

The World Pool Billiard Association sanctions snooker competitions, as well as the International World Games Association, World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association and World Snooker. Any events put on by those organizations is legal for betting in Massachusetts.

Soccer

The most popular sports in the world, soccer offers a wide variety of betting options in Massachusetts, including the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup. Anything sanctioned by FIFA or the International Champions Cup is legal to bet on in MA, as well as men’s and women’s college soccer.

Some of the leagues to bet on are:

• Premier League
• LaLiga
• Bundesliga
• Serie A
• Ligue 1
• MLS
• Liga MX

Softball

Beyond college softball, Massachusetts gamblers can also bet on any softball competitions put on by Athletes Unlimited Softball.

Speed skating

Beyond the Winter Olympics, Massachusetts gamblers can also bet on speed skating competitions but on by the International Skating Union.

Swimming

The main draw for betting on swimming will be the Summer Olympics. However, there are plenty of other legal options in MA, too, including any World Championships event sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Natation.

Table tennis

Table tennis is also known as ping-pong. Like swimming, Olympic table tennis may get the most betting action in Massachusetts. But there are several other leagues that MA gamblers can bet on, too:

• TT Elite Series Poland
• TT Star Pro Series
• TT Trophy Hungary
• Challenger Series Betiebs GmbH.

Beyond these leagues, you can also bet on any competition sanctioned by the International Table Tennis Federation.

LOOKING AHEAD: Which MA Online Sportsbook Will Launch Next?

Tennis

Beyond college tennis and Olympic tennis, any competitions run by ATP, WTA, USTA, International Tennis Federation or World Team Tennis is legal for betting in Massachusetts.

Track and field

Obviously, the Summer Olympics will be the main draw for track and field betting in Massachusetts. But gamblers in the state are also approved to bet on competitions run by The Commonwealth Games Federation, World Athletics and European Athletics Association.

Volleyball

Again, beyond college and Olympic options, volleyball is also legal for betting in Massachusetts is it’s a competition sanctioned by FIVB.

Water polo

Yet again, beyond college and Olympic options, water polo also has plenty of other legal betting options in MA, including:

• FINA World Championships
• FINA World Cup
• FINA World League
• LEN European Championships
• LEN Champions League
• Adriatic League
• Italian Serie A1

X-Games

Any X-Games event that doesn’t involve judging is legal for betting in Massachusetts. This includes racing events and events that reward competitors with the highest jumps.

If you or a loved one is experiencing problems with gambling, call 1-800-327-5050 or visit www.mahelpline.org/problemgambling to speak with a trained specialist for free, 24/7