March Madness is about to begin, and everyone is beyond excited! The in-person wagering has already started, but the expectations are high regarding the mobile gambling that has been allowed from today.
The popularity of online gambling:
Professor Victor Matheson, an economist at the College of the Holy Cross, said that the actual game began with the opening of mobile gambling. He also claimed that the difference between the states where mobile gambling is allowed and those where it is still prohibited is enormous – at least 10 to 1 in favor of mobile sports wagering.
This news is especially exciting for the Massachusetts players: they will finally get to try several ways of mobile betting on professional and college tournaments.
Since January, players can bet in three state casinos. However, from today, they will also be able to place their bets via sportsbooks operated by Barstool, Betr, BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, Fanduel, and WynnBet. In the following period, more operators will join the group.
Jason Robins, CEO of DraftKings, commented on this launch: “It was just over ten years ago when we launched DraftKings from a spare bedroom in Watertown, and now, we are proud to have the opportunity to deliver a safe and legal sports betting product to millions of diehard sports fans across Massachusetts. This launch will mark a major milestone for our company, and we’re proud to become the hometown sportsbook for customers in the Commonwealth.”
It all began with An Act regulating sports wagering in the summer of 2022. During the next few months, the Massachusetts gaming commission discussed the options for regulating this market, and it resulted in the final approval of mobile wagering. By that act, Massachusetts became one of 26 states that allowed online sports betting.
Benefits for the state:
The state will significantly benefit from this since it is expected for the industry to bring more than $100 million, as the Department of Administration and Finance claimed. The majority of this amount, 60%, will be paid in taxes, and the other 40% will be spent on licensing fees.
In the next fiscal year, customers are expected to spend an additional $5 billion on gambling, which will greatly increase the state’s profits.
Arizona is the main parameter because it allowed sports betting relatively recently, in September 2021. According to data, BetMassachusetts.com expects revenue of about $210 million only from March Madness. Lou Monaco, the company’s expert in Massachusetts, thinks that most of the profit will come from online wagering during the following days.
He said: “This year’s NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament, which starts four days after the mobile launch, will offer the first big sporting event for mobile users. That event could generate up to $60 million in wagers from mobile users alone.”
The Massachusetts gaming commission already received a report from the first day of in-person betting on March Madness. The revenue is impressive – the players spent more than $500.000 that day, which brought the state about $10.000 in taxes.
