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Massachusetts allows betting on Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight
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Massachusetts allows betting on Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission reached out to other U.S. legal sports betting states for advice on allowing betting on the event, which many decided they were.

Brad Senkiw - Senior News Editor at Covers.com

November 7, 2024 • 2:59 p.m. ET

• 4 minutes of reading

Betting on the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight will not be stopped in the Bay State.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) has decided to continue allowing betting markets for the exhibition boxing match streaming on Netflix and scheduled for November 15.

The fight at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, was the subject of some questions among regulators, but after hearing from Andrew Steffen, head of sports betting compliance and operations, on Thursday, none of the five commissioners presented a motion to vote on banning a market that is already part of the state’s betting rules.

“We talk about the illegal market and what drives people into the illegal market,” MGC President Jordan Maynard said at a news conference. Thursday public meeting. “I think if we banned this, especially since it currently falls within our rules as approved…we would potentially just be moving people from Massachusetts into the illegal market as part of this fight.” »

Paul, a 27-year-old social media influencer, boxer and co-founder of Betr, is a -250 favorite at BetMGM. The fight was originally scheduled for July 20, but Tyson, 58, a retired and former heavyweight champion, had health problems that postponed the event.

Seek advice

THE the fight is sanctioned by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, part of the Association of Boxing Commissions.

Under Massachusetts regulations, ABC matches, including amateur fights, are permitted for betting in the Bay State.

Steffen said the MGC has reached out to other U.S. states that are legal for sports betting for advice on permitting Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson odds on this event, which many decided they were.

However, he said Colorado has specific rules that would not allow betting markets for Tyson-Paul. Despite having rules allowing ABC fights, Pennsylvania and Vermont chose to ban betting on the events due to the 31-year age gap between the boxers.

Nebraska regulators have decided to change their sports betting rules to allow exhibition fight markets to be offered in the Cornhusker State, Steffen said.

Integrity and health

The MGC also communicated with two integrity monitoring services about the validity of the fight.

“Both entities stated in similar terms that it would be unlikely that there would be any corruption related to betting due to the significant public popularity, purses of the fights and the several millions for both fighters” , Steffen told commissioners. “After extensive research and contact with other jurisdictions as well as these integrity entities, we recommend leaving this event as approved for betting.”

Three of the five commissioners said they chose not to challenge the betting status because of specific rule changes that make the fight safer.

Tyson and Paul agreed to wear 14-ounce gloves, which are typically used for training and sparring, instead of the regulation 10-ounce gloves used in professional fights.

Up to eight rounds will each last two minutes instead of three minutes, which also appealed to gaming commissioners.

Not for long?

While the MGC agreed with punters on the Tyson-Paul fight this time, commissioner Eileen O’Brien said the group should “consider having parameters around this in the future”.

O’Brien called for further discussion on “catch-all” sports and whether the commission “is inviting risk by not having that conversation.”

Maynard, who was named full-time president on Oct. 28, agreed that these exhibition fights, made for television, deserve another look from the MGC.

“I would welcome a broader view of what changes might come in these types of events in the future,” Maynard said.

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