There have been some interesting news reports from the sports betting industry over the last few weeks, and you can add another from the state of Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission recently had a meeting, and it has issued some fines to some of the operators in the state.
All of the fines are being levied on the three casinos in the state, as that is where all of the retail betting is done. MGM Springfield and Plainfield Park were each fined $20,000, while Encore Boston Harbor was fined $10,000
This was not a major problem or error by the casinos, as they were all self-reported violations. In each case, the casinos offered betting on Massachusetts college basketball teams, and those are now approved betting markets.
The WynnBET Sportsbook offers wagering at Encore Boston Harbor, and there was just one unapproved wager that was placed. It came back on February 2, 2023, and the wager was voided before the parlay was completed.
MGM Springfield (BetMGM) accepted wagers on two Harvard men’s basketball games, and it only caught the issue after doing a self-review of wagers. There is now a daily audit process in place at BetMGM to keep this from happening again.
Plainridge Park (Barstool) had the most impermissible wagers accepted, as there were 33 of them on one single college basketball game in February. During testimony, Plainridge Park announced that its tech provider Kambi did not have the correct location for Merrimack College, and that is why those were accepted.
It’s positive that all of the violations were self-reported by the retail sportsbooks in the state, but it still didn’t make the Massachusetts Gaming Commission happy. This state worked extremely hard to try and establish a fair and safe market, and having so many errors right away was not a good start.
DraftKings in Trouble As Well
DraftKings Sportsbook is also in trouble in the state of Massachusetts, but the MGC did not announce what the punishment would be. These errors came after DraftKings accepted wagers on Universal Tennis Rating (UTR), and that was not an approved wager.
DraftKings announced that UTR is an approved betting market in other states in which the company operates, and it was a mistake that it was available in Massachusetts. This company is based in Boston, Massachusetts, and it was a big mistake to have such an error from a major company.
There were nearly 900 wagers placed on UTR at DraftKings Sportsbook as it wasn’t immediately noticed by the operator.
Vermont Looking to Get Going
While Massachusetts is already well on it’s way to becoming a leader in the sports betting industry, the state of Vermont is just looking to get things going. A sports betting bill has been passed in Vermont, but now the state is trying to attract some sports betting operators.
The Vermont Department of Lottery has released a Request for Proposal, and it gives potential sports betting operators the chance to apply. There will be at least two online sports betting licenses handed out, but there could be as many as six as well.
It’s unclear how many applications will be received as the minimum tax rate is set at 20% in the state of Vermont. Each operator will have to negotiate a tax rate with the Vermont Lottery, and it could end up being costly.
Those operators that are selected in Vermont will have some time to get established as they will be three-year contracts that are handed out. All of the applications are due by August 28, and the lottery will then start to accept those offers.
