Massachusetts casinos fined for allowing illegal sports bets

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission has fined three casinos.

US.- The Massachusetts Gaming Commission has fined three casinos a total of $50,000 for illegally allowing patrons to place wagers on sporting events involving in-state collegiate teams. The three cases date back to basketball games in early February, a few days after the launch of in-person sports betting at Encore Boston Harbor, MGM Springfield, and Plainridge Park Casinos.

The fines were $10,000 for Encore and $20,000 each for MGM Springfield and Plainridge Park. Regulators decided the fines fees during private conversations

Betting on in-state collegiate teams is against the law unless the teams are competing in a tournament with four or more competitors such as March Madness. Illegal bets at MGM Springfield and Plainridge Park occurred because the collegiate teams involved were incorrectly listed as out-of-state competitors.

In-person wagering took place at MGM Springfield on a February 3 Harvard versus Yale men’s basketball game and a February 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 error was corrected by BetMGM, which runs the sportsbook.

Meanwhile, more than $6,800 in bets were placed at Plainridge Park Casino on a Merrimack College versus Long Island University men’s basketball game. Merrimack College was incorrectly listed as being in Florida school instead of North Andover. One $70 bet was placed at Encore on a February 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.

See also: Massachusetts casino and sports betting revenue exceeds $132m in June