The Massachusetts Gaming Commission approved a $15,000 fine for Fanatics after the sportsbook erroneously accepted a bet on an in-state college basketball team.
At the MGC’s July 11 meeting, commissioners unanimously approved the penalty recommendation from the commission’s Investigations and Enforcement Bureau (IEB).
The noncompliant wager violated state regulations forbidding all bets on Massachusetts college and university sporting events except on those taking part in a national tournament.
Fanatics Sportsbook fined $15K for $2 parlay bet in Massachusetts
On Dec. 13 of last year, Fanatics Sportsbook accepted a $2 five-leg parlay bet through its Massachusetts sports betting app. One of the legs of the parlay was on a Boston University men’s basketball game.
Fanatics caught the error soon after the bet was placed, immediately canceling the Boston University leg of the wager. The rest of the parlay ultimately lost. Fanatics then self-reported the mistake.
When the commission first learned of the issue at a Feb. 1 meeting, commissioners recommended that IEB investigate the noncompliance and hold an adjudicatory hearing.
At the meeting, IEB counsel Zachary Mercer said that Fanatics had been “responsive and communicative” throughout the investigation process and agreed with IEB’s fine recommendation. The July 11 MGC meeting only further solidified this sentiment.
Massachusetts previously fined Fanatics $10k for college football bet
The MGC has considered penalties for operators for allowing bets on in-state college sports a few times since sports betting first launched in Massachusetts in January of last year. Last summer, the MGC approved $50,000 in fines for the state’s three casinos, whose sportsbooks accepted bets on men’s and women’s college basketball games involving Massachusetts teams last February.
This is the second such fine levied against Fanatics’ online sportsbook this year in Massachusetts. In May, commissioners unanimously approved a $10,000 fine for Fanatics for placing a $50 bet on a game featuring a Massachusetts college football team.
Just over a week before accepting the noncompliant Boston University wager last year, Fanatics took a $50 futures bet on the late-December Boston College and SMU football game at Fenway Park.
Fanatics discovered and canceled the wager the following day and notified the MGC of the issue. The customer’s $50 stake was also refunded. The company said that the wager was accepted due to an employee’s error.
Altogether this year, Fanatics has now paid $25,000 in fines for accepting $52 in bets.
