The group behind the Boston Marathon and the state’s gaming commission both strongly disagreed with a proposal by DraftKings to take bets on this year’s race.
“At this moment, there is not sufficient time for the Boston Athletic Association, nor its many partners and agencies, to coordinate and fully ensure proper protocols are in place to support such a proposal,” the BAA said in a letter to the commission revealed during their regular meeting Thursday. “The (BAA) has not been consulted on this matter and have concerns related to this proposal.”
With just 11 days to go before the April 17 start of the 127th Boston Marathon, a request by Boston based bet taker DraftKings to accept wagers on the long distance run was met with fairly swift resistance by the state’s gaming commission, after it was revealed the mobile bookie hadn’t bothered to ask the group that runs the race whether betting on the event was a good idea in the first place.
According to their request to the commission, the betting company wanted to start allowing wagers on the top 20 finishers and over under bets on winning times for the race, which annually sees nearly 30,000 people from over 100 countries test their speed and endurance through 26.2 miles of Massachusetts’ roadways.
In their letter, the BAA said they are concerned about event security and the impact on race outcomes, should bets be allowed before they’ve had a chance to “fully ensure proper protocols are in place.”
Commissioners seemed especially displeased to hear, through the BAA’s letter, that DraftKings hadn’t first consulted with the event producer before making their request of regulators.
“I question the judgment of going forward where the governing body has so clearly expressed a lack of communication and concern with going forward,” Commissioner Eileen O’Brien said.
“There was no outreach to this governing body which is actually quite local,” commission Chair Cathy Judd-Stein agreed.
“I think this isn’t right,” Commissioner Jordan Maynard chimed in.
“Not ready for prime time,” Commissioner Brad Hill said.
The commission must consider the input of the Boston Athletic Association before allowing bets to placed on their event, their lawyer told them Thursday, before pointing them to a section of their regulations which required them to make a decision on the matter at least 10 days before the race.
“There are few greater events than the Boston Marathon, it’s internationally known, but in the Commonwealth it’s very local,” Maynard said. “I’m going to honor the request of this local organization to be involved in the process.”
“This did come to us rather abruptly,” Judd-Stein concurred.
The commission denied DraftKings’ request to take bets on the race unanimously, 4 – 0, with Commissioner Nakisha Skinner absent.
The BAA said they are focused on putting together a massive public gathering, held this year on the tenth anniversary of a terrorist attack at the finish line which caused the deaths of three and injured hundreds.
“With 11 days to go until the 127th Boston Marathon, our focus remains on creating the best event experience for our participants, volunteers, spectators, and community members. We’ll have no further comment at this time,” a spokesperson told the Herald on Thursday.
DraftKings did not immediately respond to a request for comment.