Several American states have passed legislation recently, allowing the regulation of online gambling in the form of mobile sports betting. Now, many of those same states are experiencing delays with the regulatory process, meaning residents won’t be able to make bets until sometime next year… and maybe longer. These delays mean that people in Maine, Kansas, and Massachusetts will have to wait just a bit longer, or drive to another state.
Sports betting in Maine was passed in May, but the state Gambling Control Board now says that residents won’t be able to make legal wagers for at least another eight months, and possibly longer. An online gambling launch in eight months of time would see legal bets beginning in January of next year, but the Board added that the process could very well take until January of 2024.
Kansas passed sports betting legislation a couple of few weeks after Maine did so, but there are regulatory delays there, too. Some in the state optimistically believed that betting on sports would be operational by September, including the Governor. But state gambling officials quickly put the kibosh on that, saying that there will most likely be no betting at all before next year’s Super Bowl.
Then in Massachusetts, where legal online gambling for sporting events was just passed in a last minute deal in the wee hours of August 1st, there was excitement for betting on NFL games at the start of the season next month. The State Gaming Commission was quick to chime in, tho… telling residents that there was realistically no way to have sports betting open that quickly. They also added that the Super Bowl next year was more realistic.
