Maynard said the sportsbooks instead requested a private executive session in place of a public roundtable "as they felt that some information would be too sensitive to reveal in public.” The MGC, though, is required by Massachusetts law to hold their meetings in an open forum, except in some special circumstances.

According to the MGC, sportsbook operators including BetMGM, DraftKings, FanDuel, Caesars, Fanatics and PENN Entertainment (ESPN BET) informed the commission of their decision to withdraw within 72 hours of the public meeting. Only one sportsbook operator that is not yet live in the state, Bally Bet, sent a representative. Bally Bet will not be available in Massachusetts until June.

In addition to Bally’s representative, Justin Black, the meeting was attended by the commission members, their legal counsel, a professional gambler representing the perspective of sportsbook patrons and two gambling industry consultants.

After an hour of conversation, the commissioners expressed frustration at the pointlessness of having the roundtable without the operators present.

"This was not a good use of our time today, given that we didn’t have our primary stakeholders as part of the discussion,” said Commissioner Nakisha Skinner. "I hope we can work to change that going forward.”

Commissioner Brad Hill said he felt "anger” for "not being able to get a lot more information that I thought we would be able to get today to start this conversation.”

Https://Www.Nytimes.Com/Athletic/5511132/2024/05/21/Massachusetts-Gaming-Commission-Sportsbooks-Opt-Out/

Operators jilt Massachusetts regulator in discussion about limiting bettors