The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) has voted to hold an adjudicatory hearing into FanDuel over bets placed on podcaster Bill Simmons’ account by another person who was in the state.
Commissioners took the decision at their public meeting on 5 November, after a briefing from the Investigations and Enforcement Bureau (IEB) on alleged noncompliance by BetFair Interactive US, trading as FanDuel Sportsbook. The agenda describes the matter as “impermissible proxy wagering” under the state’s sports wagering law, G.L. c. 23N, and the MGC’s regulations.
What happened
- FanDuel reported 22 wagers with a total handle of $21,800, placed over three days in August.
- The bets were placed through Simmons’ account by an acquaintance who was in Massachusetts. Simmons lives in California.
- Simmons described the bets on his podcast at the end of August and later said he had not known about the rules on proxy betting.
- FanDuel reported the matter to the MGC, voided the wagers and took action on the account.
Massachusetts law requires operators to use commercially reasonable methods to stop people placing wagers as agents or proxies for others, and its rules make betting accounts non-transferable.
Commissioners’ focus
MGC Chair Jordan Maynard said at the meeting that he was “more interested in how the operator let something like this happen and the actions they took after it was public.” IEB Senior Enforcement Counsel Zachary Mercer said the bureau had not ruled out any conditions. No hearing date has been set and no sanctions have been proposed.
Other actions at the meeting
- Caesars was fined $7,500 for taking bets on an unapproved boxing match and $10,000 over a Northeastern University baseball game.
- MGM Springfield was fined $7,500 for Heisman Trophy betting.
- Fanatics will face a separate adjudicatory hearing for failing to notify 132 customers about account limits.
