Wagering on college athletic awards like the Heisman is officially off the menu for sports betting sites in the Bay State — at least for now.
Sports betting in Massachusetts began on January 31 at three casinos, but it is expected to expand to mobile apps anywhere in the state in March, just in time for the Madness. Therefore, nailing down exactly what online bookmakers can offer is no small thing.
In addition to a blanket ban on non-tourney games played by state colleges, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) spent time on Tuesday clarifying a few other betting markets. Operators had been asking about awards involving college athletes and futures on Massachusetts schools, among other things.
“While answers are pending the Operators have ceased offering wagers on awards given to individual collegiate athletes, future bets on MA collegiate teams that have not yet qualified for a tournament, and wagers on MA collegiate teams if the outcome is decided via regular season results only,” a memo to the commission said. “Any bets already placed on those types of offerings have been locked, to the extent they exist.”
And the award goes to...
An FAQ provided to the commission spelled out what should be acceptable in the Bay State, and commissioners mostly agreed.
The document said an operator cannot take a wager on a Massachusetts college winning their conference, on awards given to individual college players (such as the Heisman or Wooden awards), or on a state college before it has qualified for a tournament.
“Once the Massachusetts team has qualified for the tournament, tournament-related wagers may be offered on that team,” the document said. “Wagers may also be offered where Massachusetts teams are automatically qualified to participate in a tournament (ex. the Beanpot).”
Some discussion was stirred up by the Heisman and other college award betting ban, as it is not a state-specific prohibition. Furthermore, the state allows bettors to wager on other awards, such as National Football League's most valuable player.
But, under Massachusetts law, acceptable sports betting in the state does not include wagering on an outcome that depends on the performance of an individual college athlete. In other words, it doesn’t matter if an athlete plays for Boston College or Bowling Green — you can’t bet props on them, and you can’t wager if they’ll win the Heisman or another award.
Members of the MGC agreed with the proposal from staff, noting the state’s sports-betting legislation aims to shield college athletes from wagering-related repercussions for their performances. Although commissioners could revisit the issue in the future, for now, college awards are out of bounds for bettors.
“I think, from my perspective, the intent of this Massachusetts legislation was to alleviate that pressure on athletes,” MGC Chair Cathy Judd-Stein said during Tuesday’s meeting.
The MGC is addressing a few whoopsies today, as two casinos offered sports betting on Massachusetts colleges in the early days of legal wagering in the state.
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) February 14, 2023
You can't do that in MA unless the college is in a tournament, but those tourneys are coming, so gotta get it sorted. https://t.co/WPwCePlDKT
That clarity could be appreciated, as it comes after all three casinos in Massachusetts, which are currently the only places in the state with legal sports betting, have admitted to mistakenly taking wagers on basketball games played by colleges in the state. That is not allowed under Massachusetts law unless the schools are playing in a tournament like March Madness.
The MGC spent time on Tuesday trying to decide what to do with Encore Boston Harbor in Everett and Plainridge Park Casino in Plainville, which offered limited college betting markets for several hours before yanking them down and reporting themselves to regulators. Members of the MGC then heard later in the meeting that MGM Springfield made a similar mistake before shutting it down and reporting themselves to the commission.
It may seem like a small thing, and steps have since been taken to ensure similar mistakes don't happen.
At Plainridge Park, for example, there was a little less than $7,000 in wagers involving a Merrimack College men's basketball game, because the technology provider for the Barstool Sportsbook there mistakenly had Merrimack as a Florida school, not Massachusetts. Meanwhile, at Encore, a single bet was placed at a kiosk involving a Boston College women's basketball game, which was part of a five-leg parlay.
However, these are the first of an unknown number of issues the MGC will have to deal with and penalize operators over if commissioners decide that’s warranted. As a result, members of the commission were keen to weigh in, to set a precedent.
“I want to set the goalposts with my fellow Commissioners early on and then see how it's working,” MGC Commissioner Jordan Maynard said during Tuesday’s meeting.
The MGC will formally address the matters at a later date.
