Massachusetts regulator gives Penn green light for ESPN Bet retail rebrand; removes betting on college awards from menu

Late last week, ESPN Bet opened a retail sportsbook at L’Auberge Casino Resort in Louisiana, and it opened a venue at the Margaritaville Resort Casino 14 September. For its Massachusetts location, at Plainridge Park, Penn was doing its due diligence by asking the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) to sign off on the change. Commission staff said it saw no “substantive issues” with the rebrand and the Massachusetts regulator gave Penn its blessing. No date was announced for the rebranding.

ESPN Bet went live digitally in 17 US jurisdictions, including Massachusetts, last November. The company Monday (23 September) got approval from the New York State Gaming Commission to launch in that state. A Penn executive Monday pointed to a go-live ahead of the weekend, but that hadn’t happened as of Thursday (26 September). New York is the biggest live competitive wagering market in the US.

No betting on Heisman Trophy, other college awards

Besides giving Penn the green light for its rebrand, the Massachusetts regulator approved a clarification to its betting markets. The state has some of the stiffest regulations around college wagering in the US. It does not allow for college-player prop bets. Thursday, it clarified that it also will not allow betting on individual college awards, like the Heisman Trophy in college football or the John Wooden Award in college basketball.

In addition, the commission updated rule 205 CMR 219.04. This rule was intended to give the Investigations Enforcement Bureau three years to complete “durable suitability investigations.” In practice, the rule allows for two years. The MGC agreed to update the rule to match its intent.

BetMGM parlay changes approved

BetMGM asked for several changes to its house rules, in particular, parlays. In essence, the new rules would allow for same-game parlays that include a Major League Baseball, NBA, NHL or NFL leg, to have odds recalculated if a leg involving one of the four leagues is cancelled. This means the parlay would still be in play, but with new odds. However, if one leg of a parlay involving another league (for example, the Canadian Football League or Korean Baseball) is cancelled, then the entire parlay is void.

MGM Springfield also sought updates to its house rules for wagering. Current house rules say that the minimum bet at a teller window is $10, but the MGC approved a change giving MGM Springfield the right to accept smaller bets on a case-by-case basis. In addition, it approved a change that clarifies that a professional or college football game result is only valid after 55 minutes of play.

Caesars Sportsbook modifies, eliminates markets

Caesars Sportsbook also requested and got approval for some house rules changes, including eliminating field hockey as a market. Executives said there is little interest in the sport outside of the Olympics. In addition, the platform will now void any cross-sport parlays if one event in the parlay does not take place.

The Massachusetts regulator also approved removing and adding multiple markets, including some in-play markets, in baseball, golf, hockey, football, pickleball, rugby, soccer, softball and tennis. In particular, the new house rules address golf’s “dead heat” rules. Earlier this year, DraftKings mistakenly sent out an e-mail to excluded consumers about a dead-heat situation.

Caesars’ new house rule on this subject reads, “Predict the player to finish 1st or 2nd in a specified tournament. If a player ties for 2nd place dead heat rules will apply with the other selection. If the winning 1st and 2nd place finishers for the specified tournament are not listed, then ‘other’ is the winner.”

NC moves forward with retail sportsbook plan

The North Carolina Lottery Commission Wednesday (25 September) took a step forward in having commercial brick-and-mortar sportsbooks in the state. The commission unanimously approved a certificate of compliance proposal that will allow operators to start the process of building out and opening in-person betting venues. The state’s two tribal casinos already have retail sportsbooks.

Digitial operators in North Carolina went live in March, ahead of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Since then, bettors have laid down $2.9bn in wagers and the eight operators have reaped $351.1m in revenue. It’s unclear how many operators will open brick-and-mortar locations, but those that intend to must be in good standing, get independent lab certification, submit a host of operational documents and have on-site inspections.

The commission also passed esports guidance and posted  a petition for esport events or wagers form on its website. Operators interested in offering esports can submit the form as the first step to offering esports betting. In addition, the commission got an update on next steps to launch pari-mutuel wagering. A public-comment period on the notice of rulemaking is open until 18 October and an in-person public-comment period is set for 8 October at 9 a.m. at the North Carolina State Lottery Commission Headquarters in Raleigh.