Take It To The Limit
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission is making first-of-their-kind demands on sportsbooks, and at least one other state is thinking about doing the same.
The Bulletin Board
NEWS: Massachusetts reaches a decision on limiting bettors and VIPs; will require sportsbooks to submit data on both.
BEYOND the HEADLINE: After getting hit with a $425k fine in Ohio, DraftKings awaits MA fine for credit card snafu.
WEEKEND CATCHUP: Elon Musk’s not-so-random giveaway; Update on the BetMGM-Antar lawsuit; Jackpot.com partners with 7-Eleven.
NEWS: Where there’s smoke: Temple point-shaving scandal is getting serious.
AROUND the WATERCOOLER: Gambling isn’t all sunshine and puppy dogs.
STRAY THOUGHTS: Lambs to the slaughter?
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MA Sets New Reporting Standards for Limiting and VIPs
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission has spoken, and it wants sportsbooks to supply it with data on limited bettors and VIPs. The new policy could be a game changer for the industry if other states follow suit.
The request is the culmination of events that inauspiciously began in May when all but one licensed sportsbook skipped a roundtable discussion on limiting bettors.
As I suspected would happen after the sportsbooks snubbed the MGC, the regualtory body has made first-of-their-kind demands on operators. Last week the MGC unanimously approved a plan to collect data on the practices of limiting bettors and designating customers as VIPs from the state’s licensed sports betting operators.
Per Jessica Welman’s reporting at SBC Americas, the data collection would be detailed, narrow, and confidential:
“We would formulate such a data request to seek specific player data from which our team could deduce (1) the percentage of their players that they limit (2) how many players are being limited and exhibit winning behavior and (3) how many players are being treated as VIPs and exhibit losing behavior.”
As an side, Sporttrade (a newsletter sponsor) CEO Alex Kane took to X before the hearing to make the case for a differentiated operator license, which would solve the limiting problem overnight — you can read my deep dive on the topic here.
Meanwhile, Gadoon “Spanky” Kyrollos was in Wyoming, presenting the bettor’s case before the Wyoming Gaming Commission (the video is cued up to Spanky’s testimony), focusing on limiting bettors.
As Fair Play Initiative posted on X, “Sports Betting Regulators Association chief Tom Sage also spoke. The recommendation was to follow in the Massachusetts Gaming Commission's footsteps in requesting data from operators.”
This one deserves a “Stay Tuned…”
Beyond the Headline: MA (soon) and OH Hit DraftKings with Fines
DraftKings was hit with a $425,000 fine by the Ohio Casino Control Commission for two violations, including accepting prop bets on individual college athletes after the state instituted a ban on March 1, 2024 — the violations occurred between March 14 and March 19.
The second violation involved funding. Between January 2023 and March 2024, DraftKings accepted over 40,000 transactions, totaling $2.5 million, from unapproved funding sources. As Steve Bittenbender noted on X, the 40,000 transactions averaging about $62, would make sense if the transactions were prepaid gift cards.
And over in Massachusetts, DraftKings is in hot water for accepting more than 1,000 bets funded by credit cards. Even though the deposits occurred outside Massachusetts, where credit cards are accepted, the bets themselves were made in Massachusetts. Of note, it’s fairly simple for a Massachusetts resident to drive to New Hampshire or Vermont and deposit via credit card.
As Sam McQuillan wrote for Legal Sports Report:
“From March 2023 to February 2024, 218 users placed 1,160 bets totaling over $83,000 using this loophole. Although DraftKings believed it had fixed the issue in July 2023, further violations occurred, culminating in pool entries funded by credit cards.”
DraftKings claimed it misinterpreted the rule, and an initial fix failed to correct the issue. The MGC hasn’t levied a fine yet.
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Weekend Catchup: Musk’s Non-Random Giveaway; BetMGM-Antar Lawsuit; Jackpot.com + 7-Eleven
Decision over Elon Musk’s non-random random giveaway: A Pennsylvania judge has ruled that a giveaway that was attached to Elon Musk’s free speech and gun rights petition doesn’t constitute a lottery. Prior to the Nov. 5 election, Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner filed a lawsuit against Musk, claiming the giveaway’s daily $1 million prize represented an illegal lottery. Judge Angelo Foglietta of Philadelphia’s Court of Common Pleas ruled the campaign “failed to meet any of the three criteria to qualify for a lottery under Pennsylvania law: a payment, a prize, and a random chance to win.” As it turns out the random giveaway wasn’t so random.
A new venue for an ongoing lawsuit: A lawsuit brought against BetMGM by self-professed problem gambler Sam Antar is being moved to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, with oral arguments expected on December 10. In the lawsuit, Antar accused MGM of enticing him with bonus offers and ignoring obvious signs of problematic play, which led to some $30 million in losses and his involvement in illegal investment schemes to fuel his gambling habit.
Lottery courier Jackpot.com inks a deal with 7-Eleven: Jackpot.com has reached an agreement with 7-Eleven making it the official lottery courier of the world’s largest convenience store chain. Per Bonus.com, “The collaboration will initially roll out in Ohio and Massachusetts, providing customers access to lottery games and scratch-offs through the Jackpot.com app or website at over 600 7-Eleven and Speedway locations across the two states.”
Quick Hitter: Temple Point-Shaving Investigation
I bookmarked this story in March, and after a little bit of smoke last month, when Temple transfer Hysier Miller was dismissed from the Virginia Tech basketball team, we now are seeing the flames.
“Federal authorities are investigating whether former Temple men's basketball player Hysier Miller bet on his own games and manipulated the outcome of Owls games he played in, according to sources with direct knowledge of the situation.”
As I’ve mentioned, a point-shaving scandal will embolden efforts to ban college player props and perhaps more. As I wrote in 2022:
“There is no quicker way to draw (unwanted) attention from lawmakers and regulators than a scandal… A sports betting scandal in the legal market would elicit a swift response, which is likely to be an extreme overreaction.”
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Around the Watercooler
Social media conversations, rumors, and gossip.
This is a really poignant post from Alun Bowden on LinkedIn:
I would add this: Would you [I’m speaking to people in the gambling industry] encourage your children, family, or friends to take up gambling as a source of entertainment? More pointedly, would you encourage them to gamble for entertainment if they were in a rough patch of their life?
I always discourage people from gambling or tell them they’re “smart” when they say they don’t gamble. I don’t judge people for gambling, I understand the appeal, but it’s not something I recommend doing.
Like Alun, I love the industry and understand it isn’t going anywhere, but we need to be honest about what we are selling.
Stray Thoughts
My first thought reading David Hill’s long-form article in Rolling Stone, which I thoroughly enjoyed, was the Amarillo Slim line that Mike McDermott relays in the movie Rounders, “You can shear a sheep many times but skin him only once.”