The regulator of sports betting sites in the Bay State has hit the commonwealth’s three commercial casinos with fines for offering wagering on state colleges that were not playing in a tournament.
Encore Boston Harbor, MGM Springfield, and Plainridge Park Casino were issued penalties of $10,000, $20,000, and $20,000, respectively, by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) over their missteps during the early days of legal sports betting in the state.
The MGC announced all three fines on Tuesday, a day after it held a hearing for another alleged noncompliance matter involving DraftKings, and said it appreciated the three casinos reported the incidents themselves to the Massachusetts sports betting regulator.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission hit the commonwealth's three commercial casinos with fines today for offering wagering on a state college that was not playing in a tournament, which you can't do. The MGC issued $50K total in penalties for the sports betting-related mistakes. pic.twitter.com/wL68rgb53z
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) July 25, 2023
Legal wagering began in Massachusetts at the three casinos before expanding to mobile apps and sites in March. The three fines announced Tuesday highlight some of the growing pains that have afflicted the Massachusetts market so far, as the commonwealth’s ban on wagering on in-state colleges outside of tournament play is not a universal rule for operators across the United States.
The incidents for which the casinos were fined were relatively small in the grand scheme of legal sports betting in Massachusetts, where hundreds of millions of dollars are now wagered every month. Still, state regulators have shown themselves to be thorough in their work, and the fines could send a message to operators that the MGC won't let anything slide.
For instance, in the case of Encore Boston Harbor (EBH), the casino's WynnBET sportsbook took one wager on a Feb. 2, 2023, Boston College women's basketball game, which was part of a five-team parlay. The bet was ultimately voided when the player returned to settle their ticket.
“Wagering was allowed on Boston College women’s basketball due to a system error where the team was known by two names to EBH’s wagering platform and only one of those names was included on a blacklist of teams upon which wagering is not allowed,” a press release stated. “EBH reports that their vendor, WynnBET, is now conducting twice daily audits to ensure Massachusetts college sports teams regular season games are not available to be wagered on.”
No stone left unturned
MGM Springfield was fined $20,000 for taking wagers on two Harvard men's basketball games in February, with 28 tickets sold at kiosks involving wagers on the events. The issue had to do with the systems of the casino’s sports-betting vendor, BetMGM.
“Wagering was allowed on the unauthorized events because BetMGM had previously incorrectly designated Harvard as being in Connecticut,” a press release said. “This error has been corrected and BetMGM confirms that the location of all Massachusetts collegiate teams is correctly designated.”
At Plainridge Park Casino, or PPC, 33 wagers across 27 tickets were placed on a Merrimack College men's basketball game.
“This event was available to be wagered on due to a backend data entry error where the location of Merrimack College was listed as being in Florida,” a press release noted. “Kambi, PPC’s sports wagering vendor, has addressed the issue and corrected Merrimack College’s location to Massachusetts.”
