Massachusetts Sets Hearings on Simmons Proxy Bets and Fanatics' Missed Account Notices

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission has two sports-betting enforcement matters on its agenda, and neither has produced a decision. One concerns FanDuel and the podcaster Bill Simmons. The other concerns Fanatics Betting and Gaming's failure to tell customers why their accounts had been limited.

In the Simmons case, Simmons said on The Ringer's podcast that he had his daughter's boyfriend log into his FanDuel account and place wagers while he was in California. CDC Gaming reports 22 wagers totalling $21,800 across three dates in August. FanDuel voided the wagers, acted against Simmons's account and reported the incident to the commission. Senior enforcement counsel Zachary Mercer told commissioners that the Investigations and Enforcement Bureau "has not foreclosed any condition going forward," so no sanction is settled.

Commissioner Eileen O'Brien said she was a "little disturbed" that people do not fully appreciate that proxy betting is illegal, particularly among younger bettors. Commissioner Paul Brodeur said the matter was not complicated given Simmons's public admission. The open question is whether a public confession shortens the process or whether the commission will still need a full record of how the account was used.

The second item tests a rule that took effect on June 1 and requires sportsbooks to give restricted winning bettors a personalised explanation within 48 hours. Massachusetts is the first state to impose that requirement. CDC Gaming reports that between July 29 and September 7, Fanatics failed to notify 132 patrons whose wagering it had limited, and that the commission also barred vague "business decision" language. The reporting does not say how many limits Fanatics imposed in that window, so the 132 cannot yet be read as a rate.

Brodeur said the initial negotiations over the notices faced "a little resistance," and that he hoped the failures were a glitch but feared otherwise. "If it is not, we need to send a message that that won't be tolerated," he said. Commissioner Nikisha Skinner wants to understand the mechanics of what went wrong. Those answers, not the agenda listings, will show whether the notice rule has teeth in its first months.