Massachusetts Gaming Commission – 9/8/22 Meeting Recap

• No timeline provided. Commissioners are mindful that stakeholders are eager for a “go live” date, but want to take the time necessary to complete the process correctly.
• Deborah Goldberg, Massachusetts Treasurer presented regulations the Treasurer’s Office would like to see for sports wagering. Some to note include:
  • Prior to receiving a license, applicants must present a plan to help mitigate impacts on the Lottery, including partnering on cross-promotions for both in-person and online.
  • The Commission recommended using Iowa’s regulations around unclaimed winnings and abandoned accounts as a model for Massachusetts.
• A regulation was adopted to authorize entities with Independent Testing Laboratory Certification for electronic gaming devices in the casino space also be authorized to provide testing services of sports wagering devices.
• On submission of draft regulation for House Rules, multiple discussions, comments, and edits resulted in the decision to table this until a future meeting on Sept. 15 when they will also discuss temporary licensure topics.
• The suitability investigation and forms that could be used in the investigation were discussed (such as the Business Entity Disclosure Form, the Multi-Jurisdictional Personal History Disclosure Form, and the Massachusetts Supplemental Form).
• Potential categories to be used in the proposal evaluation, such as sports wagering experience and expertise, economic impact to Massachusetts, and technology.
• Commissioners provided Commission staff guidance to begin drafting regulation on the  topic of technical testing for sports wagering platforms, equipment, and software.
• Because the meeting ran long, discussion about the interim policy for executive licensure was pulled from the agenda.
• A sports wagering roundtable on responsible gaming is scheduled for Sept 13.
• As previously mentioned, there will be a meeting on Sept 15th to discuss temporary licensure and draft regulation for House Rules submission.
• There are plans to have another sports wagering roundtable with mobile operators, but that has yet to be scheduled.

The iDEA team is available to answer questions from members if needed.