The regulator of retail and online sports betting sites in the Bay State is weighing what to do with two casinos that offered forbidden wagering markets to customers.
Wynn Resorts’ Encore Boston Harbor in Everett and PENN Entertainment Inc.’s Plainridge Park Casino in Plainville both offered and accepted action on Massachusetts college teams for a brief period in February, which is not allowed in the state unless those teams are playing in a tournament.
Those incidents prompted the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) to hold adjudicatory hearings on Tuesday, during which the regulator more formally probed the matters. The MGC did not make a final decision on Tuesday but will deliberate privately before issuing a written ruling and potentially taking disciplinary action, such as fines or license conditions for further Massachusetts sports betting.
The MGC is holding hearings today on the alleged offering of forbidden sports bets by two casinos: https://t.co/KLfYGqSXwM
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) March 14, 2023
All of the issues discussed Tuesday were flagged before last Friday’s start of mobile sports betting in Massachusetts. While legal sports betting began in the state at three casinos on January 31, it is online where most wagering will occur in the state and where more potential incidents could rear their head. Six online sportsbooks are now live in the commonwealth.
The MGC plans to talk about a promotion offered by Barstool Sportsbook on Wednesday, according to its agenda, which could become a recurring segment for the regulator. In other words, the adjudicatory hearings held on Tuesday could be just the start in Massachusetts, as state regulators have been meticulous in their work and unwilling to go easy on operators, making for lengthy and detailed meetings.
The exception to the Massachusetts college sports betting ban — allowed in the state when the team is in a tournament like March Madness — could have operators flipping on those markets around this time before having to flip them off again later, creating the potential for another mistake. Furthermore, the relative youth of the Massachusetts sports betting market may mean additional growing pains ahead.
“We're learning here,” MGC Commissioner Bradford Hill noted during the Encore hearing.
Defense in depth
The Encore matter discussed Tuesday involved moneyline wagering being available on a Boston College women’s basketball game in early February for around five hours, during which a five-leg $70 parlay was placed at a kiosk. One leg of the ticket was the regular season BC game, and that leg was voided when the bet was settled. The casino reported the incident to regulators.
There was a bit of confusion during the hearing about exactly how the BC game was available for wagering. However, the MGC ultimately heard that GAN Ltd., a technology provider for the WynnBET sportsbook at Encore, blocked all other Massachusetts college wagering but had two names in its system for the Boston College women's team, which allowed the wager to slip through.
Measures are in place to ensure similar incidents do not occur (although they did later in February). For instance, WynnBET is now conducting a twice-daily audit of college sports offerings to ensure there are no regular season games for Massachusetts-based schools.
“We've put additional layers in place to prevent further instances,” Jacqui Krum, senior vice president and general counsel at Encore, told the MGC. “As our system matures, we anticipate that these events will be far more unlikely.”
Multiple issues
Nevertheless, there have been multiple incidents of alleged or potential non-compliance in Massachusetts. That includes issues at Encore Boston Harbor, as the MGC heard last week that the casino self-reported two more instances of mistakenly offering betting markets on Boston College women’s basketball later in February. Those incidents will be addressed at another adjudicatory hearing.
Plainridge Park, meanwhile, mistakenly offered wagering on a regular season Merrimack College men's basketball game for around seven hours before reporting itself as well. Approximately $6,848 was wagered with the Merrimack game involved, spread across more than 30 bets made at kiosks and the counter.
The problem arose because of a data-input error on the part of PPC's sports wagering events system provider, Kambi, which had Merrimack as a Florida school, not Massachusetts. Steps have since been taken to ensure the mistake doesn’t happen again, such as an audit to ensure all other Massachusetts schools are properly labeled.
“We regret that this occurred,” said Chris Soriano, the chief compliance officer for Barstool Sportsbook-owner PENN Entertainment Inc. “However, I'd like to point out that when incidents like this do occur, we pride ourselves on a prompt response and thorough self-reporting, and identifying root causes so that we can avoid such circumstances again in the future.”
