Massachusetts to Hold Hearing on FanDuel's Proxy Betting Case

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) will hold a hearing to decide on enforcement action against FanDuel after media personality Bill Simmons placed $21,800 in bets through another person. The commission made this decision following an investigation into 22 bets placed between August 7 and August 19. The bets are said to violate state rules and the operator's own rules, as proxy betting is prohibited.

According to Zachary Mercer of the MGC's Enforcement Division, the bets were placed over three days and totaled $21,800. The matter came to light when Simmons described it himself on his podcast on August 30. Simmons said he wanted his daughter's boyfriend to place futures bets on UCLA and the Houston Texans using his Massachusetts FanDuel account, while he was in California at the time. He said he also gave the boyfriend the code needed to log into the account.

FanDuel reported the incident to the commission the following day and cancelled the bets. The company said it had taken action on the account but did not share the measures it had put in place.

The commission also discussed three separate compliance matters. Fanatics Sportsbook allowed 71 customers to create and share 102 referral links. The same company did not notify 132 customers whose accounts were restricted between July 29 and September 7. The commission asked for a review of the referral link issue, and in the account restrictions file it requested additional information and voted to hold a hearing.

The commission approved all three penalties proposed by the Enforcement Division. Caesars Sportsbook will pay a $7,500 fine for accepting bets on an unsanctioned boxing match, and a $10,000 fine for taking bets on a Northeastern University baseball game. MGM Springfield received a $7,500 fine for accepting bets on the Heisman Trophy, which is a prohibited bet type. The commission also approved changes to the house rules of BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings and FanDuel.