Massachusetts regulator offers clarity on sports betting applications for horse tracks, simulcast centers

Two businesses — Raynham Park and Sterling Suffolk Racecourse — have filed initial paperwork with the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to kick off the sports betting application process under the category set aside for horse racing and simulcasting tracks.

The timeline for when sports wagering would be able to start at those companies has remained murky over the past few months as both Raynham Park and Sterling Suffolk Racecourse have told regulators they need more time to assess their needs, find a sportsbook partner, and solidify physical locations.

And during a virtual commission meeting Thursday, representatives for both said they would not be able to turn in a full sports betting application by the Nov. 21 deadline regulators set for casinos and online companies.

Both Sterling Suffolk Racecourse and Raynham Park will need to ink a deal with a sportsbook to run their online and retail wagering operations.

Rimon Law Attorney Steve Eichel, who represents Raynham Park, said the company is “within a couple of weeks, hopefully, or less” from naming a sportsbook partnership, though he declined to dive into details Thursday. “We are negotiating term sheets and trying to finalize those negotiations with a couple of potential, I should say several potential operators,” Eichel said.

Eichel told MassLive last week that Raynham Park is looking for a sportsbook deal that “is going to give us the largest projected market share,” adding that can only “happen with an operating partner who’s one of the major players and who’s got real credibility in both the marketplace for consumers as well as with the Gaming Commission.”

DLA Piper Attorney Bruce Barnett, who represents Sterling Suffolk Racecourse, said the business “is not in a position” to present “anything resembling a full application” by Nov. 21.

“We’ve been communicating, in talks with various top-of-the-line operators. Because of the sort of strategic and competitive sensitivities, we don’t feel like we can give a lot of detail about exactly what’s happening [with] negotiations, but we’re moving forward,” Barnett said. “We are hopeful of having something soon that we can sort of bring to the public and bring to the commission.”

by Chris Van Buskirk