During a meeting with the gambling regulator in Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC), Fanatics Betting and Gaming CEO, Matt King, outlined that the company plans to introduce its sports betting platform in Q1, 2023, a report released by SportsHandle reveals.
Fanatics Reaffirms Plans for Sports Betting Platform Debut
As a part of a presentation shared with the regulator, Fanatics said it plans to deploy its platform starting in the first quarter of this year. Then, before September, the company anticipated launches in major betting markets in the US. Ultimately, with the presentation, Fanatics sought to receive initial approval in Massachusetts.
Besides Massachusetts, other states where the company can roll out its long-anticipated services include Ohio and Maryland. In fact, in both Maryland and Ohio, Fanatics has previously secured initial approval. This means that one of the two markets may mark its debut in Q1 this year. Still, Fanatics is yet to confirm which market will be the first to experience its sports wagering platform.
“FBG will launch its online wagering platform in Q1 2023, and will deploy that product to the majority of legal online wagering states before September 2023, including the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in partnership with Plainridge Park Casino,“
reads Fanatics’ presentation
Ohio and Maryland Already Offer Legal Sports Wagering
Legalized back in May 2021, Maryland launched its retail betting market in December of the same year. Then, nearly a year later, near the end of November 2022, the state also went live with its online sports betting market.
On the other hand, the legalization of sports wagering in Ohio was completed in December 2021. However, the retail and the mobile betting market didn’t launch until January 1 this year. Despite that, Ohio finally launched its legal market and quickly proved that the activity was long-awaited.
Since the launch during the New Year’s weekend, Ohio surpassed the geolocation transactions volume when compared to New York, data released by GeoComply reveals. Overall, GeoComply recorded 9.3 million transactions from New York, which were surpassed by the 11.3 million recorded in Ohio.
Last but not least, Massachusetts is another state where sports betting is legal. Back in August last year, the state legalized the activity, but the market launch date is yet to be confirmed.