Betr officially exits Massachusetts after earning gaming commission's approval

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission has officially approved the exit of sports betting and media company Betr from the state. Betr stopped taking bets on its platform on February 16th, with a geolocation lock for users in the state and has since settled its outstanding wagers.

The company was launched in 2022 and is backed by social media personality and fighter Jake Paul. Betr was perceived as an outlier in the highly competitive Massachusetts sports betting market due to its focus on player-based props and other micro-betting wagers.

“I really appreciated your product and your innovations,” Massachusetts Gaming Commission Chair Cathy Judd-Stein said during the MGC’s meeting on Wednesday. Judd-Stein also announced her retirement from the position this week, effective March 21st.

Speaking about its exit from the state last month, Betr said it was "trading a 7 million population state for over 23 million in the net new states for collectively less economics than it would have required to renew in MA alone," but added that it might want to reenter the Massachusetts betting market at a later date.

Even though Betr is leaving Massachusetts, it will continue to be operational in Ohio and Virginia and has plans to enter Colorado, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania.

WynnBet to leave Massachusetts later this week

Meanwhile, betting company WynnBet has announced its exit from the state on February 23rd. WynnBET noted that 75% of its futures wagers have been settled with either a straight cash payout or a fair-market value payout on the outstanding bet. It has contacted all of its patrons with such bets.

Earlier this month, Encore Boston Harbor Sr. Vice President and General Counsel Jacqui Krum told the MGC that the WynnBET retail sportsbook in Everett will be operated and managed by the casino. The sportsbook will no longer receive any technological or marketing support from WynnBET.

After Betr's and WynnBet's exist from Massachusetts, only six active online operators will operate under two different licenses in the state:

In Category 1, tethered to a casino, there are BetMGM (MGM Springfield); Caesars Sportsbook (Encore Boston Harbor); Fanatics (Plainridge Park Casino); and ESPN BET (Plainridge Park Casino), Boston Herald reported. In Category 3, untethered, there are DraftKings and FanDuel. Bally Bet also has a Category 3 license that it plans to renew for 2024 but is yet to launch.

This leaves 8 unused online operator licenses available in the state. Books can partner with a casino operator, or a parimutuel operator, or also apply for a license alone. License fees in the state cost $1 million per year.