Draftkings’ Plan to Offer Odds on the Boston Marathon Rejected

By Matt Speakman,
Betting Expert at online-gambling.com

Matt Speakman Betting Expert at online-gambling.com

A die-hard fan of the Patriots, Matt Speakman is an expert on everything related to sports betting and DFS sites. Over the years, he has proven a valuable asset for our team at online-gambling.com. You can find Speakman's professional tips and tricks in any of his many articles on the website.

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Last updated: April 17, 2023

The 127th Boston Marathon will take place on April 17th. The 26.2-mile race’s home state of Massachusetts will provide legal sports betting for the first time in its history during the 2023 competition.

On January 31, Encore Boston Harbor and MGM Springfield both launched physical retail sportsbooks. Last month, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) approved the launch of online sports betting.

Bettors in Massachusetts can choose from DraftKings, BetMGM, FanDuel, Barstool Sportsbook, WynnBet, and Caesars Sportsbook, all of which are licensed mobile sportsbooks.

DraftKings, a Boston-based company that used to focus on daily fantasy sports but now focuses on sports betting and iGaming, was very happy when online sports betting started in March. The operator wanted to include the race in its online sportsbook in Massachusetts, which is about 1,500 feet east of the Boston Marathon finish line on Boylston Street.

During their discussion, the five MGC commissioners talked about DraftKings’s plan to offer odds on the Boston Marathon this month. The sportsbook, which only does business online in Massachusetts, says it will not offer odds on amateur racers but rather on about 40 professional runners.

There will be roughly 70 professionals competing in the 2023 marathon. Only the top 20 male and female professional runners and male and female winning times (over/under) will be available for wagering.

Kansas, Oregon, and Wyoming’s state gambling regulators have previously given regulated sportsbooks the go-ahead to offer odds on prestigious marathons like the Boston Marathon. DraftKings says that its Boston Marathon product for 2023 will only let people bet on the feature future and not on the race itself.

The Statement of MGC’s Chair

The Boston Marathon is the oldest recurring marathon in the world and among the most recognizable sporting occasions. The marathon, which is customarily held on Patriots’ Day, begins in Hopkinton and winds through city streets and Boston’s financial district before finishing in Copley Square.

The DraftKings bid to provide gambling on the Boston Marathon was rejected by the Boston Athletic Association (BAA). The BAA informed the MGC that as the race’s preparations have been ongoing for more than a year, permitting betting at such short notice would raise integrity issues.

In a letter to the state gambling authorities, the Boston Athletic Association said that neither it nor its many partners and agencies have sufficient time to manage and fully make sure that the right rules are in a position to support a proposal to let people bet on the event.

MGC Chair Cathy Judd-Stein stated that ensuring that the event’s governing body can safeguard the integrity of the result is one of the agency’s crucial factors in permitting new events to the state’s wagering catalogue.

Judd-Stein appeared to indicate that she is against permitting sports betting on the 2023 Boston Marathon. Following an informal vote, everyone opposed permitting DraftKings to provide betting on the Boston Marathon. After a brief break, the MGC unanimously voted against making the race official.

More About Plainridge Park

Plainridge Park told the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) that the launch of its retail Barstool Sportsbook will be delayed. This is related to a change in Massachusetts regulations. The casino, which is owned and run by Gaming and Leisure Properties and Penn Entertainment, recently informed the state that extra time was required to complete the building of its on-site sportsbook.

The former Flutie’s Sports Pub in Plainridge is being converted into a Barstool Sportsbook. Instead of opening in the late spring, the facility will instead debut this summer.

Last year, Penn Entertainment, the social media and gaming company established by Dave Portnoy, exercised its right to acquire Barstool Sports. Penn initially consented to pay $163 million for a 36% share in Barstool in early 2020. But as part of that agreement, Penn was given the option to think about buying the remaining 64% of the business. For Barstool, Penn forked down a total of $551 million.