Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 205 CMR - MASSACHUSETTS GAMING COMMISSION › Title 205 CMR 234.00 - Sports Wagering Vendors › Section 234.01 - Vendors

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
(1)
Requirement for Licensure or
			 Registration
.
(a) Unless
			 otherwise licensed as a gaming vendor pursuant to
			 205 CMR
			 134.00:
Licensing and Registration of
			 Employees, Vendors, Junket Enterprises and Representatives, and Labor
			 Organizations
, no Person shall conduct business with a Sports Wagering
			 Operator as a Sports Wagering Vendor unless such Person has been licensed as a
			 Sports Wagering Vendor. A Person shall be considered to be conducting business
			 upon commencement of performance of a contract or provision of a good or
			 service.
(b) Except as provided in
			 205
			 CMR 234.01(2), a Non-sports
			 Wagering Vendor shall not be required to obtain a Sports Wagering Vendor
			 License or to register as a Sports Wagering Registrant under
			 205 CMR
			 234.00. As part of its license application process, a
			 prospective Operator shall be required to identify all of its known or
			 anticipated vendors providing goods or services to whom the prospective
			 Operator reasonably expects to pay an amount of $10,000 or more within a
			 12-month period, including Non-Sports Wagering Vendors, and if licensed the
			 Operator shall have a continuing duty to update the Bureau relative to the
			 identification of any new vendors. The Bureau may, at its discretion, require
			 the submission of additional information and documents from an Operator,
			 prospective Operator, or a Non-Sports Wagering Vendor.
(c) Except as provided in
			 205
			 CMR 234.01(2)  and in
			 205
			 CMR 234.01(1)(e), a Sports
			 Wagering Subcontractor shall not be required to obtain a Sports Wagering Vendor
			 License or to register as a Sports Wagering Registrant under this
			 205 CMR
			 234.00. As part of its application process, a
			 prospective Sports Wagering Vendor shall be required to identify all of its
			 known or anticipated Sports Wagering Subcontractors providing goods or services
			 to whom the vendor reasonably expects to pay an amount of $10,000 or more
			 within a 12-month period, and if licensed the vendor shall have a continuing
			 duty to update the Bureau relative to the identification of any new
			 Subcontractors. The Bureau may, at its discretion, require the submission of
			 additional information and documents from a Sports Wagering Subcontractor or a
			 Sports Wagering Vendor or Applicant for a Sports Wagering Vendor License
			 including, but not limited to, the Sports Wagering Subcontractor Information
			 Form as provided in
			 205
			 CMR 234.02(3).
(d)
Third-party Marketing and
			 Advertising Entities
.
1. For
			 purposes of
			 205 CMR
			 234.00, a "third-party marketing or advertising
			 entity" is a Person:
a. who is not a Sports
			 Wagering Subcontractor;
b. who is
			 not a revenue-sharing advertiser as defined in
			 205
			 CMR 234.01(1)(e)1.;
c. who regularly promotes or
			 directs patrons to sports wagering on mobile applications or other digital
			 platforms, or who regularly hires or recruits persons to do the same, in
			 exchange for a fee paid by the Operator;
d. who does not otherwise provide goods,
			 software, or services which directly relate to Sports Wagering operations; and
e. who is not an entity described
			 in 205 CMR
			 234.01(3)(a)2. as
			 "television, radio, newspaper, internet or other similar media used for
			 advertising purposes."
2.
			 Notwithstanding
			 205
			 CMR 234.01(1)(a)  and
			 205
			 CMR 234.01(1)(c), no Person
			 shall conduct business with a Sports Wagering Operator as a third-party
			 marketing or advertising entity unless such Person has been registered as a
			 Sports Wagering Registrant under
			 205 CMR
			 234.00. A Person shall be considered to be conducting
			 business upon commencement of performance of a contract or provision of a good
			 or service.
3. Notwithstanding any
			 other provision of
			 205 CMR
			 234.00, the Division of Licensing may, after
			 consultation with the Bureau, require a third-party marketing or advertising
			 entity to be licensed as a Sports Wagering Vendor.
4. In making the determination whether to
			 require a third-party marketing or advertising entity to be licensed as a
			 Sports Wagering Vendor, the Bureau may consider, without limitation, any factor
			 listed in
			 205
			 CMR 231.01(2)(b)1. through
			 10.
5. If the Division of
			 Licensing, after consultation with the Bureau, determines that the third-party
			 marketing or advertising entity should instead be licensed as a Sports Wagering
			 Vendor, it shall notify the entity of that decision and of the vendor's
			 obligation to register. Within 45 days of service of the notice, the entity
			 shall submit the applicable completed Registration Form-Sports Wagering Vendor
			 as set forth in
			 205
			 CMR 234.02(1)  for licensure
			 or file a written request to the Division of Licensing for reconsideration from
			 the determination requiring filing of an application for licensure. The Bureau
			 may order any Person that fails to comply with such notice to cease conducting
			 business with a Sports Wagering Vendor or an Operator immediately.
6. Any other Person, by submission of a
			 written petition, may request a determination from the Bureau that despite
			 meeting the definition of a third-party marketing or advertising entity they
			 need not be registered, on the grounds that they are not providing goods or
			 services on a regular or continuing basis, that the goods or services they
			 provide do not directly relate to Sports Wagering, or that they are otherwise
			 licensed as a gaming vendor or non-gaming vendor.
(e)
Revenue-sharing
			 Advertisers
.
1. For purposes of
			 205 CMR
			 234.00, a "revenue-sharing advertiser" is any Person
			 who promotes or directs patrons to sports wagering on mobile applications or
			 other digital platforms, or who hires or recruits persons to do the same, in
			 exchange for a percentage of net sports wagering revenue earned from users that
			 the entity directs to the Operator.
2. Notwithstanding
			 205
			 CMR 234.01(1)(a)  and
			 205
			 CMR 234.01(1)(c), no Person
			 shall regularly conduct business with a Sports Wagering Operator as a
			 revenue-sharing advertiser unless such Person has been licensed as a Sports
			 Wagering Vendor under
			 205 CMR
			 234.00, or otherwise conduct business with a Sports
			 Wagering Operator as a revenue-sharing advertiser unless such person has been
			 registered as a Sports Wagering Registrant under
			 205 CMR
			 234.00. A Person shall be considered to be conducting
			 business upon commencement of performance of a contract or provision of a good
			 or service.