Massachusetts sports bettors who harass athletes online or in person could now find themselves excluded from wagering and casinos in the state, under a new Massachusetts Gaming Commission initiative called “Bet on Respect,” announced Monday.
The MGC is giving the power to leagues, players’ associations, college athletics programs, sports venues and everyday citizens to self-report suspected harassment, whether online or in person. The MGC will rely heavily on the Massachusetts law and commission regulation (205 CMR 152), which can exclude bettors for exhibiting abusive behavior toward participants.
“Athletes, officials, and others associated with games being wagered on deserve to be free of intimidation during and surrounding competition,” MGC Chair Jordan Maynard said in a statement. “While this tool will be impactful, we hope its use will be limited as patrons will know right from wrong.”
The NCAA and all four major Massachusetts professional sports teams endorsed the initiative. Multiple sports betting operators, including BetMGM, DraftKings, Caesars, Fanatics and FanDuel, also supported it.
How the initiative works
The MGC established a portal for leagues, players’ associations, college athletics programs, sports venues and everyday citizens to report incidents. There’s also a general email, ReportAthleteHarassment@massgaming.gov, that anyone can use to report abuse.
The Sports Wagering Division collects information, with help from operators, and passes the case to the MGC Investigations and Enforcement Bureau. After reviewing the criteria outlined in 205 CMR 152.03 for exclusion, the IEB can take one of three paths:
- Take further investigatory action, including using subpoena power to gather additional evidence and/or identify the perpetrator.
- Determine that the incident does not meet the criteria for exclusion.
- Determine the incident does meet the criteria for exclusion and begin the exclusion process.
Patrons placed on the exclusion list will also receive information about programs to help those facing gambling harms.
List of backers
Student-athletes have faced a significant amount of abuse, with 51% of Division I men’s basketball players reporting online harassment over their performance, 46% of whom tied that abuse directly to gambling. That is a key reason the NCAA is supporting this initiative.
The MGC also published a video of athletes and front-office members of professional teams in Massachusetts. The Revolution’s Griffin Yow, Red Sox’s Garrett Crochet, Bruins’ Jeremy Swayman and Celtics’ Brad Stevens are all featured in the video, supporting the “Bet on Respect” campaign.
In addition, FanDuel made a separate statement on X supporting the MGC’s initiative:
“FanDuel is proud to support the Massachusetts Gaming Commission’s Bet on Respect initiative and its efforts to address athlete harassment. We maintain a zero-tolerance policy toward abusive conduct and will continue working with regulators, leagues and teams to help foster a safe and respectful environment for everyone involved in sports.”
BetMGM updated its own terms of service to suspend bettors found harassing athletes or others involved with the game earlier this year.
Other states with similar initiatives
Louisiana unanimously passed a bill that would exclude bettors “who, before, during, or after a sporting event, threaten violence or harm against any person who is involved in the sporting event.”
The law went into effect on Aug. 1 after Gov. Jeff Landry signed the bill in May.
West Virginia adopted a similar law, which allows the West Virginia Lottery Commission to ban bettors for harassing athletes, coaches or officials. Bad actors can also be criminally charged ranging from misdemeanors to felonies related to assault or battery.
Looming Bill Simmons situation
While the initiative is bringing the MGC positive headlines, one of Massachusetts’ own has made the commissioners’ jobs a bit harder this week.
Bill Simmons, founder of The Ringer and host of The Bill Simmons Podcast, admitted to proxy betting over the weekend on his podcast.
As Simmons was based in California, he allowed someone else to use his FanDuel credentials in Massachusetts to make wagers for him. That violates FanDuel’s terms and conditions and Massachusetts gaming laws, which could lead the sportsbook or the MGC to suspend both Simmons’ account and the account of the person who placed the wagers for him.
The MGC is looking into the situation, according to Front Office Sports.
