Now that the business of developing the rules for sports betting has concluded and the wagering is underway, the state’s Gaming Commission turned its attention this week to its first enforcement action since the new industry was made legal.
“This is an adjudicatory hearing before the Massachusetts Gaming Commission relative to the alleged noncompliance of Encore Boston Harbor with Massachusetts Law,” Commission Chair Cathy Judd-Stein said.
The full commission met twice Tuesday to hear from attorneys representing both Encore and Plainridge Park Casino, in Plainville, following their self-reported violations of the state’s rules surrounding bets on college sports.
The legalization of sports betting, signed into law by former Gov. Charlie Baker last summer, came with the caveat that wagers on games involving Massachusetts colleges and universities would not be allowed unless those teams were competing in a tournament or championship.
It took less than ten days after sports betting went live at the state’s three casinos — MGM Springfield is the third — before two of them told the commission they had broken the rules and allowed bets on prohibited events. A week-and-a-half later MGM said they, too, had let some bets on a college game slip through.
The industry is new enough that commissioners were not entirely sure what their options were, but decided the best course of action would be to hold adjudicatory hearings and let the casinos make their cases after having self-reported their errors.
Encore took a bet on a Boston College women’s basketball game against Notre Dame which was made available in their system from 12:45 p.m. until about 5:45 p.m. on Feb. 2. On that same day, Plainridge took bets from 11 a.m. until about 6:20 p.m. on a Merrimack College men’s basketball game against Long Island University. MGM Springfield accepted bets on Harvard men’s basketball games played on Feb. 3 and Feb. 4, over the course of about 20 hours.
Commissioners did not take issue any action on Tuesday, but will eventually issue a written report with their decision on any possible penalties, which can include fines, restrictions on the operators’ licenses, or license revocation.
Further hearings, on a second violation at Encore and for MGM Springfield, are to come.
Herald wire services contributed.