Licensing and regulation: Can we get a licence?

Chapter 23K remains the exclusive statutory basis for regulated sports wagering in Massachusetts, administered by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. The material development this cycle is a Commission letter, dated November 13, 2025, prohibiting all licensees from offering sports-related event contracts, or prediction markets, regardless of whether the counterparty platform holds CFTC registration. As a regulator letter rather than a legislative instrument, this prohibition is fragile relative to the durable Chapter 23K statute beneath it, meaning the Commission can adjust its position without legislative action but cannot on its own expand the statutory licensing perimeter. The letter directly narrows what the seven online and three retail licensees may offer and reinforces that the Commission, not the CFTC, controls product-scope questions for sports wagering conducted in the Commonwealth. This stance also underlies the Attorney General's parallel litigation against Kalshi over the same event-contract question.