MA sports betting regulators will investigate Jake Paul‘s SEC violation concerning cryptocurrencies as a cofounder of Betr.
The investigation was confirmed at Thursday‘s meeting by Loretta Lillios, director of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission‘s Investigation and Enforcement Bureau. Paul was one of eight celebrities charged by the SEC for “illegally touting TRX and/or BTT without disclosing that they were compensated.”
Lillios confirmed that Betr alerted the MGC to the news after the settlement. Part of the investigation will look at why the MGC did not find out as soon as Betr learned of the charges, she added.
Betr is one of 10 MA sportsbooks licensed by the state for online betting. It was the only sportsbook not to get a unanimous ‘yes’ vote with Commissioner Eileen O’Brien voting no because of Paul’s involvement.
Betr one step closer to launch
The micro-betting focused operator expects to launch in April. Those plans became closer to reality after Betr’s house rules were approved Thursday.
Sterl Carpenter, MGC sports wagering operations manager, expressed his appreciation of Betr’s house rules. He said it was clear the company’s compliance team paid close attention to craft their house rules to Massachusetts’ regulations.
Other, larger companies took existing house rules and tried to fit them into Massachusetts’ requirements, he added.
FanDuel cleared to link MA sportsbook, ADW apps
FanDuel received unanimous approval to enable access to the FanDuel Racing app from its FanDuel Sportsbook app.
Josh Mehta, FanDuel director of legal and regulatory affairs, noted the company could eventually offer cross-promotion of the products, when asked if that was a possibility.
One thing that is not a possibility is allowing horse racing bets on sportsbook apps. General Counsel Todd Grossman explained that would go against the sports betting statute and quickly received a unanimous ‘no’ vote.
PointsBet withdraws MA sports betting application
Any link to Massachusetts for PointsBet has come to an end after the MGC voted to approve the operator’s application withdrawal.
PointsBet gave the commission economic reasons for not moving forward in Massachusetts, though that page was redacted in the commission’s meeting materials.
The company told LSR in February it was focusing on how to best optimize its existing markets.
Not the first retreat for PointsBet
This is far from the first pullback for PointsBet. The company dropped its authorized sportsbook status with the NFL, which meant it could no longer serve as the odds provider for the Sunday Night Football pregame show.
BetMGM swooped in to take that national sponsorship opportunity as PointsBet said it would focus on regional advertising.
PointsBet then restructured its marketing deal with NBC Universal. The sportsbook pushed the deal out an additional two years, which lowered its dedicated annual marketing spend.
Caesars MA sports betting license review upcoming
Caesars and Raynham Park‘s contract did not bring up any concern. That means the application process for its Category 2 retail license a a simulcast facility can move forward.
The sportsbook operator will not handle parimutuel betting until a new 30,000-square-foot facility is completed. Then, it will handle both horse betting and sports betting for Raynham.
Caesars is already live in Massachusetts through a Category 3 mobile license tethered to Encore Boston Harbor.