BetMGM could face punishment in Massachusetts over college football bets
Adjudicatory hearing to be held following reports operator took over $200,000 in improper bets during the college football season
BetMGM will face a hearing in Massachusetts after the Investigations and Enforcement Bureau (IEB) reported to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) that the operator had accepted over 15,000 bets on college football matches throughout the season.
The wagers allegedly taken by the operator related to college football player prop bets, and are reported to have an estimated monetary value of more than $200,000.
In the rules set out by the regulator, operators are prohibited from offering prop bets on student-athletes.
The issue was raised by the IEB in a meeting of the MGC on February 1, with the regulator unanimously agreeing that an adjudicatory hearing was necessary to deal with this issue.
MGC commissioner, Eileen O’Brien, proposed holding a hearing due to the “breadth” of the non-compliance issue and the fact that BetMGM did not self-report.
O’Brien said: “This should be adjudicatory. Hats off to our sports wagering team for some auditing work that caught this, as opposed to some self-reporting. The breadth of it, the statutory violation, the number of bets, the money, I think this warrants adjudicatory.”
The regulator has three different options when dealing with non-compliance issues.
The MGC can designate the IEB to investigate the issue, it can call for an adjudicatory hearing, or issue a civil administrative penalty, which the operator can appeal.
Cathy Judd-Stein, MGC chair, said the issue must be resolved quickly to protect the state’s student-athletes.
Alongside the discussion of BetMGM’s alleged non-compliance issue, the meeting discussed two other issues.
The IEB noted that MGM Springfield accepted a bet of less than $10 on the Northeastern Huskies men’s basketball team. This is prohibited, as operators are only allowed to take bets on in-state colleges if they are playing in a national tournament.
This bet was part of an eight-leg parlay, which lost. The regulator agreed to let the IEB deal with matter.
If a fine is issued to MGM Springfield, then the MGC would have to explain the reasoning behind this decision.
The other non-compliance issue related to a $2 bet taken by Fanatics on an in-state college game in December 2023 as part of a five-leg parlay. The IEB noted this is similar to another non-compliance issue that involves Fanatics. An adjudicatory hearing will also decide this matter.