Massachusetts casinos fined for allowing illegal sports bets in February
Gaming regulators fined the three casinos in Massachusetts with in-person sportsbooks a total of $50,000 Tuesday for illegally allowing patrons to place wagers earlier this year on sporting events involving in-state collegiate teams.
The three cases stem back to basketball games in early February, only a handful of days after the launch of in-person sports betting at Encore Boston Harbor, MGM Springfield, and Plainridge Park Casinos.
The fines — $10,000 for Encore and $20,000 each for MGM Springfield and Plainridge Park — are much less than the millions the venues have pulled in this year from in-person casino and sports gambling. Regulators decided the fines during private conversations.
Betting on in-state collegiate teams is against the law unless they are competing in a tournament with four or more competitors like March Madness.
Illegal bets at MGM Springfield and Plainridge Park occurred because the collegiate teams involved were incorrectly listed as out-of-state competitors, according to regulators at the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.
In-person wagering took place in Springfield on a Feb. 3 Harvard versus Yale men’s basketball game and a Feb. 4 Harvard versus Brown men’s basketball game. More than $1,200 in bets were accepted on each event, the commission said.
Cambridge’s Harvard University was incorrectly listed as a Connecticut school, the statement said. The error was corrected by BetMGM, which runs the sportsbook at the Springfield casino.
A spokesperson for MGM Springfield referred questions to BetMGM, which declined to comment.
Plainridge Park Casino on a Feb. 2. Merrimack College versus Long Island University men’s basketball game. Merrimack College was incorrectly listed as a Florida school instead of its North Andover home.
A spokesperson for Plainridge Park Casino declined to comment on the fine. A vendor for the casino fixed the error, the Gaming Commission said.
One $70 bet was placed at Encore on a Feb. 2 Boston College versus Notre Dame women’s basketball game because Boston College was known by two names in a backend system, and only one name was included on a list of teams for which wagering was prohibited.
A spokesperson for Encore did not respond to a request for comment.
