How to get a gambling licence in Massachusetts: by tender

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission regulates sports wagering, and the casino and horse racing industries. It issues every operator licence. Its Investigations and Enforcement Bureau investigates and recommends discipline, and its Division of Licensing licenses vendors and registers registrants. The Attorney General's Gaming Enforcement Division enforces alongside it.

• The Commission itself sets and enforces sports wagering advertising rules (205 CMR 256) under c. 23N s. 4(c)(ii). There is no separate advertising regulator for operators.
• One operator licence covers sports wagering as c. 23N s. 3 defines it, every bet type including in-play, parlays, proposition and exchange wagering. There is no per-product licence.
• As of 7 November 2026 the Commission's register lists 10 sports wagering licence holders: three Category 1 (the three casinos) and seven Category 3, of which seven are online.
• The Commission reopened licensing on 9 April 2026 and asked for a non-binding Notice of Intent by 15 May 2026.
• The Commission's Annual Report 2025 records that licensees must display the Commission's official seal of approval on their digital platforms.

Laws that apply

• M.G.L. c. 23N (ss. 1 to 21), the Massachusetts Sports Wagering Act
• 205 CMR Parts 202 to 258 (sports wagering rules of the Gaming Commission), including 211, 214, 215, 218, 221, 231, 234, 238, 243, 244, 247, 248, 251 and 256
• M.G.L. c. 271 (general gambling offences; ss. 1 and 5B carve out chapters 23K and 23N, s. 17A carves out chapter 23N)
• M.G.L. c. 23K (casino law, land-based) and c. 128A and c. 128C (horse racing)
• 940 CMR 34 (daily fantasy sports) and 940 CMR 30 (sweepstakes and de facto gambling), Attorney General rules

Chapter 23N licenses operators in three categories, and a temporary licence bridges the wait for a full one. Category 1 and 2 go only to existing casino and racing licensees, so a new online company comes in through Category 3.

• Cap: not more than 7 Category 3 licences may be untethered (c. 23N s. 6(b)(3)). Three are held, so four places remain under the statutory cap (7 less 3).
• Brands are counted by app. Each branded mobile app of a Category 1 or 2 licensee is qualified for and issued its own Category 3 licence. No rule on websites or domains appears in the sources cited.
• Occupational licences are required for operator staff in a supervisory role whose duties relate directly to the operation of sports wagering (c. 23N s. 8). They are renewed by 1 March of the third calendar year after issue or renewal.
• The operation certificate (approved internal controls and a test period) is needed before any wagering other than testing under 205 CMR 251.02, and it stays in effect for the licence term.
• Daily fantasy sports operators register separately with the Commission and are not part of the operator licence.

No local entity, office, bank account or resident director is required. What decides an application is whether the applicant and every person with control of it are found suitable, on clear and convincing evidence.

• No nationality or EU or EEA rule applies. An entity of any origin may apply for a Category 3 licence if it is found suitable, and the Commission may use information from other jurisdictions where the applicant is authorised to conduct sports wagering.
• There is no minimum share capital. The Commission must be satisfied of financial responsibility sufficient to meet the requirements of the proposed enterprise (c. 23N s. 9(a)(iv)).
• Every person with control must be qualified: owners of 10% or more; for a corporation the president, chief executive, chief operating officer, chief financial officer, treasurer, secretary, each inside director and the chair; for an LLC each member, manager and transferee; for a partnership each partner. The Division of Licensing may add anyone with significant responsibility or influence.
• Unsuitability follows from a knowingly false statement of a material fact, a licence revoked by any authority regulating gaming or sports wagering, a felony or other crime involving embezzlement, theft, fraud, perjury or gambling, lack of financial responsibility, or affiliates or close associates that would not qualify.
• Individual qualifiers file the Multi-jurisdictional Personal History Form and the Massachusetts Supplemental Form, and entity qualifiers the Business Entity Disclosure Form. The Commission may obtain state and national fingerprint-based criminal checks.
• An operator licence applicant must be the true owner, or disclose the other owners if it is not the sole owner (c. 23N s. 9(a)).
• Patron funds sit in a segregated account restricted to funds owned by patrons in the United States (205 CMR 238.01), and data must be hosted in the United States (c. 23N s. 11(a)(v)).
• A Category 2 licensee must make a capital investment of not less than $7,500,000 within 3 years. This is a land-based requirement.

The Commission's Division of Licensing receives and checks the application for administrative sufficiency, the Bureau investigates, and the Commission decides in a public meeting. No statutory timeline applies.

• The applicant first completes the Operator and Vendor Scope of Licensing survey, then requests a secure link on the Commission's web form and submits the unredacted application plus a redacted copy as a single PDF. A pre-application consultation is available under 205 CMR 218.01.
• The application carries the Sports Wagering Operator License Application, the Massachusetts Supplemental Form, the Multi-Jurisdictional Personal History Disclosure Form, the Business Entity Disclosure Form and attestation forms, with the $200,000 application fee.
• It must describe background, experience, economic impact, diversity commitments, responsible gaming measures, technology and the suitability of qualifiers. No separately named business plan or stand-alone financial projection form is required; the Commission weighs the projected revenue and tax revenue to the Commonwealth.
• Deadlines are set by the Commission and may differ by category. In the 2022 round applications for Category 1 and 3 were due 21 November 2022, with Category 2 on a rolling basis. For the 2026 round an application deadline was not on the pages cited as of 7 November 2026.
• In the 2022 round the Category 1 licences were awarded on 8, 19 and 20 December 2022 and the Category 3 temporary licences on 23 February 2023, about three months after the deadline. The five-year awards followed over 2024 to 2026.
• A deficient application gets 14 days to cure. The Commission may request more information at any time before its decision, and once licensed the operator gives written notice of any change to material application information within 30 days (c. 23N s. 5(d)).
• The Commission may deny where the applicant fails to establish its integrity or financial resources, or where awarding the licence would be injurious to the Commonwealth's interests (c. 23N s. 6(e)). It gives a statement of reasons for a denial on request.

The fixed fees are $200,000 to apply and $5,000,000 for the five-year licence. Beyond them the operator holds a player-fund reserve and pays an annual assessment that recovers the Commission's regulatory costs.

• If the Commission's investigation costs exceed the $200,000 application fee, the applicant pays the excess within 30 days after notification or the application is rejected.
• There is no annual licence fee as such; the $5,000,000 is paid once per five-year term (c. 23N s. 6(f)). There is no minimum annual fee and no minimum tax.
• A licensed operator pays no per-domain fee. Each Category 3 licence for a branded app carries its own $5,000,000 fee on the Commission's licensee pages.
• Patron funds are held in a segregated account, cash reserves or an approved irrevocable letter of credit equal to 110% of the total funds held in sports wagering accounts, including pending withdrawals, as reported for the most recent quarter (205 CMR 238.12(2)).
• The reserve for outstanding wagering liability must be in, or backed by, an irrevocable letter of credit the Commission approves and can draw on if the operator ceases. The letter of credit is the operator's own instrument, not a deposit paid to the Commission.
• Equipment must be tested by a Commission-certified independent laboratory at the operator's own expense, paid directly to the laboratory. Fingerprint fees are set by the Secretary of Administration and Finance.
• No mandatory charitable contribution is imposed beyond tax and the public health fee.

Massachusetts charges an excise on adjusted gross sports wagering receipts under c. 23N s. 14, collected by the Gaming Commission. The excise is in lieu of all other state and local taxes and fees on the operation of, or the proceeds from, sports wagering or fantasy contests.

• Adjusted gross sports wagering receipts are gross receipts from sports wagering less winnings paid and federal excise taxes paid. For fantasy contests the only deduction is cash prizes paid. The base is a gross gaming revenue measure, not turnover or stakes.
• No deduction for promotional gaming credits or bonuses is provided. A negative month is carried forward to later returns, never back.
• Receipts are calculated daily. The excise is due on or before the fifteenth calendar day after the month in which the receipts were received, with the return filed electronically for the preceding month.
• Section 14 was last amended by St. 2024, c. 206, ss. 8-9, effective 1 January 2024, and the list of c. 23N on mass.gov read on 7 November 2026 shows no later amendment of s. 14.
• Under s. 17 the tax revenue is allocated: 45% to the General Fund, 10% to the Workforce Investment Trust Fund, 2% to the Economic Development Trust Fund, 27.5% to the Gaming Local Aid Fund, 1% to the Youth Development and Achievement Fund, 9% to the Public Health Trust Fund and 5.5% to the Sports and Entertainment Events Fund.
• There is no value added tax in the United States or in Massachusetts, and no advertising or sponsorship tax appears in the instruments cited.
• Players: Massachusetts taxes winnings as income at 5.00% in tax years 2025 and 2026, with a 4% surtax on income above $1,083,150 (2025) and $1,107,750 (2026). The payer withholds 5% from sports wagering winnings subject to tax and to federal withholding.
• No online casino or poker is licensed, so no online casino tax exists. Land-based casino gaming is taxed separately under c. 23K.

Massachusetts licenses no game provider as such, because it licenses sports wagering only. A supplier whose goods or services directly relate to sports wagering holds a Sports Wagering Vendor licence, and the supporting businesses register.

• No person may do business with an operator as a vendor without a licence (205 CMR 234.01(1)(a)). A supplier of goods not directly related to sports wagering needs none unless the Division of Licensing designates it a registrant or the Commission or Bureau requires a vendor licence. Operators must identify vendors expected to receive $10,000 or more in 12 months.
• As of the Commission's Master Vendor List updated 4 November 2026, 30 vendors (all with status Temporary) and 238 registrants are listed.
• Equipment, including the software and apps a person uses to place a wager and the systems that manage accounts, must be tested and certified by a Commission-certified independent testing laboratory before use. A certification from another jurisdiction does not replace the Massachusetts one, though a laboratory may rely on independent testing done elsewhere.
• The standard is GLI-33: Event Wagering Systems, version 1.1 (14 May 2019), adopted by 205 CMR 243.01 with Commission amendments, and GLI-CMP: Change Management Program Guide, version 1.0 (6 May 2020) for change management. A request for approval goes to the Commission at least three business days before equipment is operated or critically updated.
• The primary server, or the equipment primarily responsible for accepting wagers, must be in secure locations within Massachusetts unless the Commission approves otherwise. Wagering, customer and other confidential data must be hosted in the United States. Cloud hosting is permitted, and the Commission may approve cloud hosting of duplicate data or data not related to transactional wagering on written request.
• Mobile wagers may be accepted only from persons physically located in Massachusetts, using their own account. The location service must be certified, including field testing, before deployment, and checks repeat: five minutes after the previous check within one mile of the border and before the next wager after an IP address change.
• Operators keep, in real time and at account level where commercially reasonable, anonymised information on each patron: the amount and type of bet, time, location including the IP address, outcome and abnormal betting activity. On request they give the Commission remote, read-only access to the platform.
• An independent audit of wagering procedures is required at least every two years. A technical security audit by an approved independent expert is due within 90 days after operations start and annually, with the report to the Commission within 30 days. Vulnerability scans run at least quarterly.
• There is no return-to-player rule and no cap on stakes or winnings. An operator sets its own limits and notifies patrons of the minimum and maximum for each event or wager category.

The minimum age is 21, in person and online. Identity is verified electronically at account establishment, credit cards are banned, and a statewide self-exclusion list binds every licensed operator.

• Registration needs full legal name, date of birth, residential address (not a post office box), Social Security number or its last four digits or an equivalent federal identification number, and a telephone number. The operator verifies name, date of birth and number electronically and uses identity authentication questions unless the Commission approves another method.
• Permitted funding includes cash and cash equivalents, electronic funds transfers, debit cards and prepaid access instruments, promotional gaming credits and payouts. Credit cards are barred directly or indirectly. Cryptocurrency is not on the list and could only be used if the Commission approves it.
• A withdrawal request must be honoured by the later of five business days after the request or ten business days after submission of any tax reporting paperwork. Patrons may withdraw by the method used to deposit, to the extent technologically feasible.
• The Commission keeps a list of persons self-excluded from sports wagering. A person chooses one year, three years, five years or lifetime, and the period cannot be reduced. An operator that uses an internal management system updates it at least every 24 hours with additions and removals.
• A Category 3 operator must let the patron set daily, weekly and monthly deposit limits and wager limits at any time, displayed before registration, at the first deposit and at the first wager. No limit is imposed by default, and no loss limit, session limit or reality check is required.
• Operators must offer a temporary prohibition for a period of the patron's choice under 205 CMR 254, and a patron may ask for account suspension of not less than 72 hours.
• Every app and platform must show the problem gambling helpline telephone number and website on each entry. The Department of Public Health prints the Massachusetts Problem Gambling Helpline as (800) 327-5050 and the website gamblinghelplinema.org.
• Operators file a problem gaming plan annually for Commission approval, audited by an approved third party at least every three years.
• The operator answers each complaint in writing within ten business days and advises the patron of the right to take it to the Commission, which may direct corrective action. No independent ADR provider is required.

Advertising by licensed operators is allowed and governed by 205 CMR 256, enforced by the Commission itself. No general pre-approval or filing is required.

• Advertising may be placed only by or for operators licensed in Massachusetts, and operators must not advertise forms of illegal gambling. Advertising for online casino or poker is therefore not permitted for an operator.
• Every advertisement states that patrons must be 21 or older, except branding that is only a logo or trademark, and carries a link to and the phone number for the Massachusetts Problem Gambling Helpline. Sizes are set by medium: print the greater of the majority text size or 2% of the height or width, billboards 5%, and video 2% throughout or 2% then an 8% closing screen for at least the last 3 seconds.
• Advertising may not run in media where 25% of the audience is reasonably expected to be under 21 unless adequate controls keep it from them, may not appear at schools or at events aimed at minors, and may not depict anyone who is or appears under 21, other than live footage of professional athletes in sporting events.
• No rule bans television, radio, outdoor, online or social media advertising, and no time-of-day limit or watershed applies. No rule bans sponsorship or logos at venues; placement at a sports event may not obscure the game play area or saturate the event.
• Advertising may not imply that sports wagering is free of risk, and may not describe a wager as free if the player must risk their own money to use or withdraw the winnings. An operator may not agree with a third party to advertise for a percentage of sports wagering revenue earned from the users it directs (205 CMR 256.01(3)).
• Promotion terms are disclosed in full: dates, eligibility, withdrawal restrictions, wagering requirements, eligible events and cancellation rules. A new-patron offer may not delay redemption or require the patron to keep an account for more than 30 days, and may not be linked to referrals.
• Operators are responsible for the content and conduct of advertising done for them by employees, agents, affiliates and other third parties, and must disclose any financial relationship with an endorser.
• Operators keep a copy of all advertising and a log of publication for six years. The Commission may order an advertisement stopped or changed on written notice that it does not conform. Pre-clearance is a sanction only: the Commission may require copies at least ten business days before publication from an operator that violates the rules.
• Personal data may not be used to promote specific wagers based on dormancy, actual or predicted income, debt or medical status, or use of play management tools (205 CMR 257.02(3)).

Operators file tax returns monthly, commission an annual independent audit, and need the Commission's approval for transfers of interests and for critical changes to their equipment and internal controls.

• Transfers of the licence or of any direct or indirect interest in it need the Commission's majority approval and the transferee must qualify (c. 23N s. 6(h)). Prior notification goes to the Bureau under 205 CMR 229.01, and a contract may not set a closing date earlier than 121 days after a completed transfer application.
• AML: the internal controls must ensure compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 as it applies to sports wagering, keep BSA records for at least five years, and carry AML procedures with a responsible individual, staff training and periodic independent testing. No local money laundering reporting officer is required.
• Suspicious betting over a threshold the operator sets and the Commission approves is reported promptly to state or federal authorities, and abnormal betting activity and suspected match-fixing are reported immediately. Records of integrity monitoring are kept five years.
• The Commission may deny, suspend or revoke a licence or reprimand a licensee, and may impose conditions or a civil administrative penalty. The statute sets no cap on that penalty. Civil penalties on any person who violates c. 23N are up to $2,000 per violation or $5,000 for violations from the same series of events.
• No express power to block a website, domain or app is given to the Commission. Its tools are civil penalties and a request that the Attorney General sue. The Attorney General sent cease-and-desist letters to Bovada on 3 October 2024 and to BetOnline.ag and Sportsbetting.ag on 25 June 2025.
• The register: the Commission publishes a Sports Wagering Licensees page with a page per licensee, showing legal name and brand, category, award dates, status, operations certificate date and launch date. The Sports Wagering Master Vendor List, updated 4 November 2026, is a separate PDF. The register does not print website domains.

The route most online entrants take: a Category 3 sports wagering operator licence, untethered or tethered to a casino or racetrack licensee. The vendor and registration routes follow below.

1. 01

   Choose your route

   M.G.L. c. 23N s. 6

   Decide whether you will hold an untethered Category 3 licence, partner with a Category 1 or 2 licensee for a tethered one, or serve operators as a vendor or registrant. Online casino and poker have no licence.

2. 02

   Check that a place is open

   c. 23N s. 6(b)(3)

   Not more than 7 Category 3 licences may be untethered and three are held. The Commission reopened licensing on 9 April 2026 and asked for a Notice of Intent by 15 May 2026.

3. 03

   Confirm suitability

   205 CMR 215

   Identify every person with control (10% owners, officers, inside directors, members, managers, partners) and check for a false statement, a revoked licence, a disqualifying crime or lack of financial responsibility.

4. 04

   File the application

   205 CMR 211 · 214

   Complete the scoping survey, request the secure link, and submit the application, disclosure forms and fingerprints with the $200,000 fee. Costs above the fee are billed within 30 days.

5. 05

   Receive the decision and pay the licence fee

   205 CMR 218 · 221

   The Division of Licensing checks the file, the Bureau investigates and the Commission decides in a public meeting. Pay $5,000,000 within 30 days after award, less the $1,000,000 temporary licence fee if one was paid.

6. 06

   Certify the platform and obtain the operation certificate

   205 CMR 243 · 244 · 251

   Have the equipment tested against GLI-33 version 1.1 by a certified laboratory, certify the location service, file internal controls and house rules, and fund the 110% player-fund reserve.

7. 07

   Go live and keep filing

   c. 23N s. 14 · 205 CMR 240

   Pay the 20% mobile excise and file the return by the 15th of each month, run the annual audits, display the seal of approval, and file the renewal 9 months before the five-year term ends.

For platform, odds, data, geolocation, identity verification and integrity suppliers that deal directly with an operator. The Division of Licensing receives the application and the Bureau investigates.

1. 01

   Secure an operator relationship

   205 CMR 234.03(1)(b)

   The Commission says an applicant must have, or be finalising, a relationship with a sports wagering operator, and the application must include proof of it.

2. 02

   File the scoping survey and forms

   205 CMR 234.02

   Send the Scoping Survey to the Division of Licensing, then the Business Entity Disclosure Form, the Vendor Attestation Regarding Suitability, qualifier forms with fingerprints, waivers and a W-9. Qualifiers must show their qualifications by clear and convincing evidence.

3. 03

   Pay and answer requests

   205 CMR 234.03 · 234.08

   Pay the $15,000 application fee with the application; it may rise where the background investigation costs more. A request for information unanswered for 21 days may lead to administrative closure.

4. 04

   Hold a temporary licence, then the full one

   205 CMR 234.07

   An operator may petition for a temporary vendor licence. A vendor licensed or registered in another United States jurisdiction with comparable requirements, and in good standing, may receive one. The full licence runs 5 years and renews at $5,000, with an updated application at least 150 days before expiry.

For marketing affiliates, data centres and payment processors, which register rather than take a vendor licence.

1. 01

   Confirm the class

   205 CMR 234.01(1)(d)

   Marketing affiliates, data centres and payment processors register and need not file a Request for Determination. A revenue-sharing advertiser that deals with an operator regularly takes a vendor licence instead.

2. 02

   File the registration form

   205 CMR 234.06

   Send the Sports Wagering Registration Form, confirmation of the business relationship from the operator, a Department of Revenue certificate of good standing or a letter that the entity has no Massachusetts taxable income, articles of incorporation and the $5,000 fee.

3. 03

   Renew every five years

   205 CMR 234.09

   The Division of Licensing issues the registration on administrative completeness. It runs 5 years and renews at $5,000. No local entity, representative or office is required.

Tier-ordered: official government first, then practitioner, then trade media. Every primary figure was read from the in-force text on 7 Nov 2026.