In-person sports betting in Massachusetts launched January 31. Online wagering comes alive on March 10. Less than six weeks between one launch and the other, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission has already had its hands full.
Errors in the system allowed illegal bets at all three casinos where sportsbooks operate, and two expected sportsbooks set to debut online dropped out: PointsBet and BetRivers.
Encore Boston Harbor put a stop on bets on NCAA women’s basketball games after bettors wagered on Boston College illegally not once, but twice in the month. The commission’s new investigation into bets on in state college contests—barred under state law—is believed to be at least the fourth since January 31. All three casinos faced similar violations.
The Investigations and Enforcement Bureau of the agency is reviewing the incident at Encore. The most recent occurrence resulted from a glitch in the backend program operated by GAN, which helps Encore manage the available events.
“When they reviewed the betting catalog and made sure that it was turned off, the system automatically turned it back on,” Sports Betting Director Bruce Band told MassLive. “And that’s why at the current time, they are not taking any bets on NCAA women’s basketball because it’s the only way they can stop that from being offered.”
Encore Boston Harbor spokesperson Beth Gibbons said “we are currently working with our provider on a permanent solution. In the interim, we have locked all NCAA women’s college basketball betting.”
This marked the second time regulators have reported illegal wagering on a Boston College women’s basketball game at Encore Boston Harbor. Money line wagering was permitted February 2 over a five-hour period in a game against Notre Dame. Only a single bet was placed.
A GAN staffer “mistakenly omitted” NCAA women’s basketball from a banned wagers list, according to the commission.
“The blocks are designed to stop any games from a prohibited school from loading into the system, but GAN, however, did not apply that block to women’s college basketball,” Chief Enforcement Counsel Heather Hall said.
The commission will hold hearings in the coming weeks to determine why it happened and how it could be prevented.
In the Plainridge Park Casino case, officials permitted betting on a regular season Merrimack College men’s basketball game versus Long Island University. A total of $6,848 was bet with total winnings amounting to $4,270, according to the commission.
At MGM Springfield, investigations revolve around a pair of Harvard University men’s basketball games.
Meanwhile, PointsBet has pulled its application for an online sports betting license.
“They are withdrawing from Massachusetts,” Commission Executive Director Karen Wells told her fellow commissioners.
That leaves 10 sports betting companies approved in Massachusetts. Of those, Bally Bet and Fanatics Sportsbook will be ready to debut in May while Betway comes online in 2024.
It was also revealed during a recent commission meeting that Bally Bet and Fanatics Sportsbook will launch in May, and Betway won’t launch until 2024. There are no issues with the companies. They’re just not ready to go yet.
PointsBet is alive and well in other jurisdictions, 13 in fact, the last in Maryland back in November. The news came as a surprise as the Australian company seemed poised for a good run without the competition from BetRivers, which is also not participating.
With PointsBet and BetRivers out in Massachusetts, DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM and Caesars Sportsbook should have a greater monopoly on the sports betting market than originally anticipated. WynnBET and Barstool Sportsbook will get traction due to loyalty programs tied to their retail casino sportsbooks at Encore Boston Harbor and Plainridge Park Casino. But their market share will likely pale in comparison to the big four.
