Sports betting is about to arrive in the state of Massachusetts as retail sportsbooks can start taking bets on January 31st. The state has no official start date for the online sportsbooks just yet, but the consensus anticipates launch in early March, just ahead of March Madness.
Massachusetts law provides for 15 sports betting licenses. Eight are tied to a physical site such as a casino or racetrack, while the other seven are up for competitive bid among online sportsbooks. Online sites can partner with physical sites. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) runs the licensing and approval process.
MGC has approved five sportsbooks thus far; Barstool (Penn Gaming), BetMGM, Caesars, Fanatics, and WynnBet. Barstool is affiliated with a physical site, Plainridge Park Casino, as is BetMGM with MGM Springfield. Expect FanDuel and DraftKings to soon fill two more slots as each has advanced in the near approval process. Still more online sportsbooks such as PointsBet, Betr, Bally’s and Betway have applied.
MGC has even approved an as yet unknown two of the sites to accept deposits and pre-registration, something that will presumably extend to all the licensed sites soon. Once they can start accepting customers, the legal Massachusetts sportsbooks will certainly all offer attractive welcome bonuses. Typically customers sign up, deposit funds and place a wager. If the bet wins, just collect the proceeds. If the bet loses, the sportsbook replaces the lost funds with free bets equal in value to the loss. The books usually max out the offer at about $1000.
Sports bettors in Massachusetts can wager on everything with the exception of college teams located in the state, except when those teams are playing in tournaments. That means Bay State residents can wager on everything related to their favorite pro teams. Boston currently reigns as the Winter Sports capital of the USA.
Boston Celtics
Just past the midway point of the NBA season, the Celtics pace the league with a scorching 31-12 record. The oddsmakers believe as they price the Celtics as the title favorites. Here are the NBA championship odds over at BetMGM
- Celtics +400
- Bucks +550
- Nets +800
- Nuggets +900
- Warriors +900
- Clippers +1000
- Grizzlies +1100
- Sixers +1600
- Suns +1600
- Cavs +2000
- Pelicans +2000
Advanced stats sites think those odds actually underprices the “C’s”. The +400 implies the Celtics have a 20 percent chance to win the title, but FiveThirtyEight gives them a 26% shot. ESPN’s Basketball Power Index (BPI) is even more bullish at 34.1 percent. Jason Tatum leads the league in Real Plus Minus and sits near the top of the MVP odds at BetMGM.
- Luka Doncic +250
- Nikola Jovic +250
- Tatum +450
- Giannis Antetokounmpo +500
- Joel Embiid +1300
- Kevin Durant +1600
All the sports books post deep spreads, totals and props markets on every NBA game. The Celtics go out as favorites virtually every night and have still gone a profitable 24-19 vs the point spread. They have churned on totals so far, going 21-20-2 to the Over.
Boston Bruins
The Bruins start to the 2022-23 season has outdone even the Celtics. They pace the NHL with a 32-5-4 record. They either won or got a point for an overtime loss in their first 22 home games. Overall the Bruins 68 points are nine points better than their next closest competitors. They too are the betting favorites in their league. Here is the top of the board at Caesars Sportsbook.
- Bruins +450
- Avalanche +700
- Hurricanes +750
- Golden Knights +900
- Maple Leafs +1100
- Rangers +1500
- Stars +1500
- Lightning +1600
Advanced stats like the Bruins even better than that, just like they do with the Celtics. The Athletic’s model gives the Bruins a 24 percent chase to skate away with their first Stanley Cup. Kind of amazingly in a sport generally dominated by young legs, three of the best players on the last Bruins title team in 2011 still are among their best players in 2022-23; Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Krejci.
The money line is the most popular hockey wager. Just pick the winner of the game, with odds. Maple Leafs +130 at Bruins -155 is an example. Bruins bettors need to risk $155 to win $100, while a $100 bet on the Leafs would earn $130 should they triumph. Hockey also features “Puck Lines” where the favorite has to win by over 1.5 goals to cover. In the Bruins-Leafs, that same game becomes something like Bruins -1.5 +160 vs Leafs +1.5 -190.
Finally there are hockey totals. The typical game sees about six or seven goals, generally fewer in the playoffs as play tightens up a bit. Bruins-Leafs Over 6 +105, Under 6 -125 is an example. If the teams combine for exactly six goals, the bet is a push and it voids.
Boston Red Sox
It looks like the best thing about the MLB season in Boston in 2023 will be the Celtic and Bruin playoff runs. The Red Sox already figured to face a difficult season in the very tough AL East before losing star shortstop Trevor Story for the first half of the season. That is on top of watching Xander Bogaerts, JD Martinez and Nathan Eovaldi walk without much in the way of replacements.But hey , roster flexibility! At least Rafael Devers signed a long term deal.
Who ever knows though. The 2021 Red Sox did not enter the season with lofty expectations and they made it to the AL Championship series.
Over at BetMGM, the Red Sox are +8000 to win the World Series, +3500 to win the American League and +1600 to take the AL, ahead of only the Orioles.
Baseball bettors will find popular money line, runs lines and totals markets on every game. Money lines resemble those in every other sport as it just involves picking the winner of the game with odds. Red Sox +160 vs Yankees -140 for example. The difference here is that books generally tie the pre-game odds to the starting pitchers. If one of the pitchers does not actually start the game, the bid voids. Run lines are like NHL Puck Lines, the favorite needs to win by over 1.5 runs. These and totals lines in MLB will generally also void if the starting pitchers on the bet slip do not actually start.
Sportsbooks also have Five Inning money lines and totals. This has added appeal in MLB as it does not expose the bet to random bullpen “noise”.
New England Patriots
The Patriots have become the definition of mid-pack in the NFL. The six time Super Bowl champs are a cumulative 25-25 outright in the three seasons since Tom Brady left town. There is no particular reason to expect the Patriots to get priced anywhere but mid pack when 2023 season futures come out right after the next Super Bowl.
The Patriots sat mid-pack in the betting markets in 2022 as well, going 7-9-1 ATS and 8-9 on Totals.
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