Fanatics Sportsbook is facing an adjudicatory hearing in Massachusetts following a prohibited collegiate wager violation that occurred in December. Betting on in-state college teams not involved in a collegiate tournament is not allowed in the Old Bay State.
Still, a $50 futures wager was placed on college football’s Fenway Bowl between Boston College and SMU at 5:55 p.m. on Dec. 5. Upon discovering the significant wager on December 6, Fanatics promptly notified the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, canceled the bet, and refunded the $50 to the customer.
Fanatics told the MGC that a toggle switch allowing or disallowing collegiate wagering was erroneously turned on by a new employee, and Fanatics did not conduct a second level of validation.
The game was scheduled for Dec. 28 so the error was caught weeks in advance, and the violation was addressed in-house at Fanatics.
‘Human error’
The hearing, where Fanatics can provide evidence, will occur in February. The commission could choose to take legal action and/or fine the online sportsbook.
The incident was discussed at the MGC’s meeting last month, but no ruling was made and it didn’t seem like much would come of it at the time.
However, after receiving a report from the investigations and enforcement bureau on Thursday, the commissioners decided they needed questions answered on how the “human error” occurred, what was done to the employee who made the mistake, and what steps Fanatics has taken to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
“I’m kind of interested in how much of this is automated and how much is human error,” Commissioner Jordan Maynard said. “The toggle switch on and off for college sports has bothered me from Day One. Seeing how we can mitigate those going forward for them is something of interest to me.”
Other regulation issues
This is not the first time the regulatory body in Massachusetts has dealt with a non-compliance collegiate issue.
Last summer, a single parlay wager including a Boston College team was accidentally allowed at a retail sports betting kiosk at Encore Boston Harbor. The Wynn-owned sportsbook operator was subsequently fined $10,000.
The commission has also yet to resolve a case against DraftKings, which self-reported that the online sportsbook broke state law by allowing credit cards from outside Massachusetts to fund accounts. An adjudicatory hearing will take place on the DraftKings matter this year.
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