- The Massachusetts Gaming Commission approved a $10,000 civil administrative penalty to FanDuel
- FanDuel accepted several bets on Boston College’s NCAA Tournament performance before qualifying for the event
- The operator accepted three bets for a total of $11
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission unanimously agreed to assess a civil administrative penalty to FanDuel for accepting three improper bets on a Massachusetts men’s college basketball team earlier this year.
The MGC agreed to fine FanDuel $10,000 for accepting three future bets between March 9, 2024 and March 13, 2024, for a total of $11 on the Boston College men’s basketball team’s performance in the NCAA tournament.
Massachusetts sports betting regulations prohibit any sports bets on in-state colleges or universities, unless they are participating in a tournament. The three bets in question were placed on the program prior to the team officially qualifying for the national college basketball tournament.
No Tournament Future Bets For State Teams
Zachary Mercer, general counsel for the Massachusetts Investigations and Enforcement Bureau, reported the error was a manual one, not related to the operator’s software. A FanDuel employee accidentally lifted the NCAA tournament betting prohibition when they were correctly lifting the prohibition on bets for the ACC Tournament after Boston College qualified for the event.
FanDuel self-reported the three bets to the MGC and the details were provided to the commission this past June.
While the commission unanimously approved of the fine, Commissioner Nakisha Skinner did say the regulators need to consider the severity of future infractions when decided on penalties.
“I take no issue for what you’ve recommended. I want to note that even though the commission has set a high priority for statutory violations, I’d want to recognize that this was an incident that involved three wagers for a total of $11. I want to make sure that when we go forward, any recommendation that comes from the IEB we consider the severity of the circumstances. We want to consider the degree of violation, if that makes sense, as we’re making sure the penalty is proportionate to the actual circumstances of the non-compliance issue,” she said.
Potentially Revising Regulation?
Commissioner Brad Hill, after the vote was completed, asked if the commission had any interest in potentially revisiting the regulation FanDuel violated. College basketball fans know that top-10 ranked teams will make the NCAA’s March Madness tournament, Hill said, so it may be worth revisiting the regulation and potentially allowing future bets on these programs.
While a date to discuss the issue was not determined, MGC Chair Jordan Maynard agreed that it may be a good idea to see if the policy should be changed.
As it stands, Massachusetts sports bettors can place future bets on the NCAA tournament for any teams that are outside of the state. This potential change to the regulation would only apply to in-state Massachusetts college teams that are so highly ranked they’re a veritable lock to make the tournament.
It should be worth noting that Boston College did not participate in the NCAA tournament last year, but did participate in the National Invitation Tournament.