MGM Springfield preparing for first full football season with sports betting

SPRINGFIELD, MA (WGGB/WSHM) - We are a little more than 24 hours away from kicking off the 2023-24 NFL regular season and, of course, that means a good number of people at western Massachusetts could be making bets online and at MGM Springfield.

“It’s real exciting. Our anticipation is really high,” said Robert Westerfield, vice president of casino operations at MGM Springfield.

The Detroit Lions and the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs are one day away from officially getting the NGL season underway and Westerfield told Western Mass News that their sports betting lounge is preparing for large crowds of football fans and tons of wagers.

“The NFL is the grandaddy of them all,” Westerfield noted. “I think every weekend, from 10 in the morning ‘til 10 at night, the room’s going to be packed and they’ll be spending some money and doing a lot of other things as well, so we’re excited for it.”

It will be the first full NFL season with sports betting an option in Massachusetts after first going live ahead of the Super Bowl in February and with college football season in play as well, the casino expects the fall and winter to be busy for them. Of course, there are economics that come into play and American International College Economics Professor John Rogers told Western Mass News that the expected hundreds of millions of dollars will make a big difference.

“It’s good for state revenues, but I think it’s also going to have an impact, which I think is still not entirely clear how it’s going to affect the sports themselves because now, there’s a lot of money riding on the outcome,” Rogers noted.

Rogers said people should keep the word “bankrolling” in their head, which is an economic term related to keeping an eye on your budget or, in this case, how much you can afford to lose.

“I think the danger is people get carried away and they say, ‘Well, I almost did it this time. It’ll work out better next time’ and, pretty soon, they’re in the hole, but they go even deeper into the hole because they think they can recover,” Rogers added.

While those placing wagers are advised to be careful, the casino hopes everyone has a touchdown of a time, especially with the NFL season kicking off Thursday night.

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