Massachusetts gaming regulators to hold hearings on proxy betting, account limit violations

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission will hold hearings into alleged proxy betting involving sports podcaster Bill Simmons and FanDuel, and into violations of a rule requiring operators to notify patrons when their accounts are limited. The commission will examine a case where Simmons admitted to having his daughter's boyfriend place bets from his account while he was in California. Fanatics Betting and Gaming will also appear before the commission to explain why it failed to notify 132 patrons of account limitations. The proxy betting case involves 22 wagers totaling $21,800 placed over three separate dates in August. FanDuel voided the affected wagers, took action against Simmons's account, and reported the incident to the commission. Commissioner Eileen O'Brien supported a hearing on the matter, citing concerns about proxy betting among young people. "One of the huge issues that we’ve had, especially with youth and college-age people betting, has to do with proxy betting," O'Brien said. She added that she was a "little disturbed by the lack of full appreciation of the fact that it is illegal."

Senior enforcement counsel Zachary Mercer said the Investigations and Enforcement Bureau is still considering what action to take. Mercer explained that the IEB has not foreclosed any condition going forward and will be digging into all facets of the case. Commissioner Paul Brodeur noted the case is not complicated because Simmons made a public admission on his podcast. O'Brien said the hearing is an opportunity for the operator to conduct a deeper dive into proxy betting controls. In a separate matter, Fanatics must explain its failure to comply with a state regulation that took effect on June 1. Massachusetts was the first state to require sportsbooks to provide personalized, detailed explanations within 48 hours when they restrict or limit winning bettors' accounts. Between July 29 and September 7, Fanatics failed to notify 132 patrons whose wagering it had chosen to limit.

Commission data indicates that sportsbooks restrict roughly 0.64% of active betting accounts. Brodeur described the notification rule as a high priority for the commission. "The initial negotiations, as I understand it about how to manifest this in a way that will be helpful to use, helpful to the consumer, was not without a little resistance," Brodeur said. He expressed concern that the spirit of the regulation might be frustrated.

"The hopeful person in me, small part of me, likes to think this is a glitch along the way in an effort to make this all work," Brodeur said. "But the more cynical part of me is certainly concerned that the spirit of what we’re trying to accomplish as a commission with our regulations around limiting might be frustrating." He told colleagues he would like assurance it was a glitch, "because if it is not, we need to send a message that that won’t be tolerated." Commissioner Nikisha Skinner said the commission needs to dig deeper into what went wrong and understand the mechanics of the failure.