Regulators are Fining Massachusetts Sportsbooks $50,000 for Violating Compliance Guidelines

Multiple Massachusetts sportsbooks are being fined a combined $50,000 for violating state guidelines on soccer betting.

This news was made official by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission on May 22. The impacted Massachusetts sportsbooks include FanDuel, Fanatics, BetMGM and Penn Sports Interactive, the latter of which operates ESPN Bet. 

These infractions are being deemed “noncompliance incidents” and are, at this point, years old. The wagers in question date back to 2023, and the primary regulators of sports betting in Massachusetts began discussing prospective penalties all the way back in January. 

Belarusian Soccer Wagers Prompted Fines for Massachusetts Sportsbooks

The collection of Massachusetts sportsbooks being fined accepted bets on Belarusian soccer events, which are banned transactions by The Bay State. Here is Sports Betting Dime’s Robert Linnehan with more: 

“Two incidents stemmed from FanDuel and Fanatics Sportsbook accepting bets on Belarusian soccer, both of which were discussed by the commission this past January. The commission has instituted a prohibition on sports bets on Belarus or Russian teams or athletes. Fanatics Sportsbook accepted 127 bets for a total of $968.13 from Sept. 13, 2023, through March 22, 2024, on the Belarus national soccer team participating in European Champions qualification matches. The incident was not self-reported, but discovered by the sports wagering division on July 3, 2024. At the time of the discovery, the sports wagering division reminded the state’s licensed sports betting operators that bets on Belarus or Russian teams were not permissible. The MGC agreed with the IEB to fine Fanatics Betting and Gaming $10,000 for the incident.

“FanDuel accepted 3,871 bets on the Belarusian national soccer team for a total stake of $11,792 from March 20, 2023, through March 26, 2024. Upon being notified of the impermissible wagers, FanDuel did a complete audit of its systems and found it did so again from July 16, 2024, through July 18, 2024, accepting 178 bets for a total stake of $5,829. The sportsbook reported that it misinterpreted the gaming commission’s prohibition. The MGC agreed with the IEB to fine FanDuel $20,000 for the incident.”

These fines are a drop in the bucket relative to how much operators make off online sports betting in the United States. That’s likely why Fanatics and FanDuel don’t appear ready to contest them. 

Still, the penalties issued may have been lower—or nonexistent—if they were self-reported by the Massachusetts sportsbooks. 

Another Sportsbook was Fined for Accepting LPGA Bets

Belarusian soccer was not the only event put under the microscope by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. As Linnehan also writes, bets on the LPGA:

“The commission also agreed to fine BetMGM $10,000 for improper bets on the LPGA. BetMGM accepted 1,934 bets on the LPGA from March 20, 2023, through May 14, 2024, for a total handle of $1,642.46. The LPGA has since become an approved sports betting market in the commonwealth, but at the time of the bets the market was still prohibited.”

This fine harkens back to a previous Massachusetts sports betting law. Initially, when the PGA and LIV Golf partnered up, The Bay State implemented restrictions for betting on all golf events. So even though the LPGA isn’t syncing up with LIV Golf (yet), it fell under the prohibition bucket anyway. 

That little tidbit tracks with BetMGM’s explanation. They claim to have misinterpreted the prohibition list, much like Fanduel when it came to betting on soccer in Massachusetts. 

Penn Sports Interactive Received the Most Interesting Fine of All

Finally, Penn Sports Interactive, which operates ESPN Bet, was fined for what amounts to violating promotional protocols. From Linnehan: 

“The final fine of the day was levied to PENN Sports Interactive for accidentally mailing out marketing materials to individuals who had placed themselves on the voluntary exclusion list. The IEB suggested a $10,000 fine, which the MGC ultimately agreed with, but not before one member made a case for it to be higher. Commissioner Eileen O’Brien noted the incident with PENN ‘does not sit well with me.’ She suggested a $20,000 or $25,000 penalty for the noncompliance incident, noting that $10,000 seemed to be the floor for a potential penalty. Her fellow MGC disagreed and kept the fine at $10,000.”

Though The Bay State has more rigidly monitored Massachusetts sportsbooks than other markets, this infraction looms as a major issue. The Commonwealth is in the process of considering the Better Health Act, which would, among other things, implement individual gambling limits following extensive financial background checks. Clearly, consumer protection is top-of-mind for officials as they project the future of the industry. 

That makes this “mistake” a pretty big one. Those who place themselves on the voluntary exclusion list often have issues with problem gambling. Sending them promotions is potentially catastrophic. If they are struggling to avoid betting on sports, it could be the type of messaging that invites a relapse into behavior and investments they’re trying to avoid. 

These Massachusetts Sportsbooks Fines Could Have A Lasting Impact

While the Penn Sports Interactive fine isn’t the largest, it could be the one that has the most meaningful impact on Massachusetts sportsbooks moving forward. If nothing else, it gives the primary ers of the Better Health Act a stronger argument. 

The overarching goal of that initiative is to subject Massachusetts sportsbooks to additional regulation. There was already plenty of evidence to suggest that’s the right call. Most notably, reports of problem gambling have noticeably increased since The Bay State launched sports betting in January 2023.

Throw in a major operator sending materials to people trying to overcome that very issue, and the optics aren’t great. Whether that matters to the success of the Bettter Health Act remains to be seen. At the very least, though, you can expect that this issue will come up.

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