Recently, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) ended one noncompliance matter but another investigation was simultaneously open. The MGC announced a civil administrative penalty to PENN Sports Interactive. They allegedly accepted several bets on a non-Division 1 basketball team in 2024. A fine was approved by the MGC but they are still going to dive into the matter. Specifically how Penn Sports Interactive’s betting operator ESPN BET finalized all the illegal bets for its customers.
Nathaniel Kennedy is part of the Investigations and Enforcement Bureau (IEB) Counsel at the MGC. He noted that ESPN BET accepted 249 bets on 27 games that featured non-Division 1 basketball teams in 2024. It’s a law in Massachusetts that a person can only wager on a Division 1 school. Kennedy noted that ESPN BET accepted $12,705 from customers. They allowed winners to keep their funds and losers were paid what they originally wagered.
Other lawmakers at the MGC like Eileen O’Brien believed that ESPN BET should have voided all bets taken on the games. She said these bets were “technically” illegal in the first place. The issue of voiding all of those illegal bets will be discussed in a future meeting.
What noncompliance matter is Fanatics Betting and Gaming involved in?
The Investigations and Enforcement Bureau (IEB) noted that Fanatics Betting and Gaming improperly accepted 83 bets. These wagers were from an NCAA football game between Boston College and Michigan State game on September 21, 2024. A total of $3,325.88 was accepted by Fanatics Betting and Gaming. Massachusetts laws prohibit residents from betting on any in-state team. That is unless the team is playing in a national tournament. Boston College was not on September, 21.
Illegal wagers were accepted by Fanatics from September 15, 2024, through September 20, 2024. Nathaniel Kennedy reported members of Fanatics’ trading teams manually overrode an offering limit for the game. This allowed several illegal bets to be accepted on the Boston College game in late September. Fanatics voided all wagers except for ones that were already cashed out by customers. This matter was sent back to the IEB to determine why bets were not voided earlier.