One advantage Massachusetts has in being late to legalize sports betting – 36th according to the American Gaming Commission – is it can learn from other states on how to stand up the industry.

Research compiled by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission made clear that state regulators are looking closely at other states’ operations.

One initial question is how long it will take for sports betting to begin. The commission, in an informational packet compiled for a public meeting on Thursday, looked at 28 states that allow sports betting (including Washington, DC) and how long it took each one after legislation passed for the first wager to be made.  

There are some outliers with states that had super-short or super-long times between the bill’s passage and the start of betting. New Jersey – eager to bolster gambling mecca Atlantic City – passed a bill legalizing sports betting June 11, 2018, and accepted its first wager three days later. New York passed a bill legalizing sports betting in 2013, but had to wait until after a federal ban on sports betting was struck down in 2018 to begin implementing it. It took six years and eight months after the law’s passage to get New York’s industry up and running.

But generally, it’s taken several months. Most of the states took between three and 10 months after a legalization bill passed to stand up their sports betting industry. A few took less or more – it took just one month to set up the industry in Delaware, but Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Washington, DC, took a year or longer.

Massachusetts appears likely to be within the standard several-month time frame. Gov. Charlie Baker signed Massachusetts’ sports betting law on August 10, 2022. Karen Wells, executive director of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, suggested a timeline at Thursday’s meeting that envisions launching in-person sports wagering in January 2023 and mobile betting in February 2023. Wells referred to the timeline as “aggressive” given the amount of time it takes to write regulations and process applications. “There is no way we can do this any earlier,” Wells said.

Compared to other jurisdictions, Well said Massachusetts would be on an “efficient to implement schedule” if the commission adopts her proposed timeline. But after hours of debate Thursday, commissioners were unable to agree on a timeline and recessed to return Friday.

Commissioner Brad Hill said he hopes retail betting could be launched by the Super Bowl, on February 12, 2023, with mobile betting for the NCAA tournament that starts March 12.

Some commissioners worried Wells’ timeline is too aggressive, since it would allow shortcuts like authorizing licenses before background investigations are completed to ensure operators are suitable. “I need to understand the rationale for why there’s being this compressed timeline advanced as opposed to a reasonable timeline by which the team can get this done,” said Commissioner Nakisha Skinner.

One question the Gaming Commission has been considering is whether to launch in-person sports betting at casinos and racetracks at the same time as mobile or digital betting. According to the commission’s research, eight states launched both types of sports betting the same day. The other states do not have online betting or waited some time – generally a month or a few months, but sometimes longer – after starting in-person betting before allowing online betting.

The research also found that Massachusetts is relatively unique in capping the number of digital betting licenses and requiring a competitive process for these companies. The Massachusetts law will allow seven mobile betting licenses, other than those tied to a brick-and-mortar betting location (i.e., casinos and racetracks). Only three states – Illinois, Maryland, and Virginia – limit the number of sports wagering licenses. Illinois allows seven licenses tied to sports facilities and three mobile licenses. Maryland allows up to 30 in-person and 60 mobile licenses. Virginia allows up to 12 licenses.

The Gaming Commission on Thursday considered a competitive review process that looks at an applicant’s financial stability, economic impact, diversity and inclusion, information technology platform, responsible gaming, and prior experience and background.

No other state has a quirk in its law like Massachusetts does, which could allow an unlimited number of temporary licenses as regulators are processing applications, but only seven permanent licenses. Commissioners and industry operators have raised consumer protection and business concerns about the potential for letting more businesses operate temporarily than will ultimately get licenses. 

SHIRA SCHOENBERG

FROM COMMONWEALTH

MBTA safety oversight: Two key lawmakers on Beacon Hill question whether the Department of Public Utilities is the right agency to hold the MBTA’s feet to the fire on safety issues. At an oversight hearing, DPU officials said the agency is on the right track in overseeing safety issues at the T, while the lawmakers wondered whether a standalone agency would give higher priority to T safety issues and allow the DPU to focus more of its efforts on energy and climate change.

– The key issue, as outlined in a recent Federal Transit Administration report on the MBTA, is the staffing level of the DPU’s transportation division. The division has hovered around seven employees for years, and it needs at least twice that number to get the job done. DPU officials say it’s difficult recruiting employees for the niche positions, and all seven of the current employees have been working less than two years.

– Ann Berwick, the former chair of the DPU from 2010-2015, said it’s a question of numbers. The transportation division has seven of the DPU’s 185 employees, so it’s natural the focus of the agency is elsewhere. “I think transit safety will always be a stepchild of the DPU,” she said. Read more.

Funding for internet access: Massachusetts receives $145 million in federal funding to expand broadband access to about a quarter of those residents who don’t have it. Read more.

OPINION

Addition through subtraction: Daniel Allegretti, spokesman for the Retail Energy Supply Association, says the climate change bill that passed in August gained through the omission of a provision banning competitive electricity suppliers. The provision has been backed by Attorney General Maura Healey. Read more.

FROM AROUND THE WEB

MUNICIPAL MATTERS  

Hardwick selectmen postpone their decision on a controversial proposal to bring thoroughbred racing to town. (Telegram & Gazette)

WASHINGTON/NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

President Biden says he intends to pardon those convicted of marijuana possession under federal law and encourages governors to do the same at the state level. (NPR) Democratic gubernatorial nominee Maura Healey – who opposed marijuana legalization when it was on the 2016 state ballot – said she would follow the president’s lead, if elected, while Republican Geoff Diehl slammed Biden’s move. (Boston Globe) 

ELECTIONS

Neither Maura Healey nor Geoff Diehl has outlined a detailed plan for how they would respond to a new COVID surge as governor. (Boston Globe) 

Diehl and running mate Leah Allen release a platform focused on parental rights in schools. (MassLive)

An analysis by the Tufts Center for State Policy Analysis of Question 4 says whether to repeal or retain the new state law allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses is more of a “values-focused” than “technical” question. (Boston Globe) 

BUSINESS/ECONOMY

Lawyers with the Justice Department’s antitrust division interviewed representatives of two New Bedford area fishing industry groups in September. (New Bedford Light) The development follows publication in July of a New Bedford Light/ProPublica investigation of consolidation in the New Bedford fishing sector. 

EDUCATION

The Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts is pursuing an aggressive plan to boost enrollment from its current level at under 1,000 to 1,500. (Berkshire Eagle)

ARTS/CULTURE

A pair of Massachusetts conservationists is making restoring old gravestones and cemeteries their life’s work. (USA Today Network)

ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT

A months-long experiment at Nashawannuck Pond in Easthampton finds barley straw is effective in preventing algae blooms. (Daily Hampshire Gazette)

National Grid is fined $1.6 million for natural gas pipeline safety violations. (Salem News)

After two decades of planning, construction is set to begin on a regional water treatment plant serving Braintree, Randolph, and Holbrook. (Patriot Ledger)

CRIMINAL JUSTICE/COURTS

Suffolk DA Kevin Hayden has sent mixed signals about his commitment to some of the criminal justice reforms put in place by his predecessor, Rachael Rollins. (Boston Globe)

MEDIA

Jim Braude is leaving GBH’s “Greater Boston” TV show at the end of the year but is continuing on Boston Public Radio with Margery Eagan. (Axios)

The Boston Herald announces in an editorial what was already reported yesterday in the New York Times – that newspapers owned by the hedge fund Alden Global Capital will no longer endorse candidates for president or in races for US Senate or governor. The Herald had in fact already seemed to have abandoned endorsements. The paper made no endorsements in the September state primary races – and its editorial page editor did not respond to an inquiry asking about the move. 

The Chicago Sun-Times, now owned by Chicago Public Media, is dropping its paywall. (Nieman Journalism Lab)