Only a few weeks have passed since sports betting became legal in Massachusetts, and already two casinos have accepted wagers on unofficial sporting events.

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Illegal Bets on Local Massachusetts Schools

Both the Plainridge Park Casino and the Encore Boston Harbor took wagers on college basketball games played within the state, according to a report published by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC).

This is an obvious violation of the Massachusetts Gaming Law, which makes it illegal to place bets on teams that include students from schools located in Massachusetts.

Bettors can, however, bet on college or university teams from Massachusetts, as long as those teams are in an official competition with at least four different schools, like the NCAA Tournament.

Both casinos told the MGC about the incidents on their own, which made the commission chair, Cathy Judd-Stein, thank the sportsbook operators at the casinos.

Infractions of the State’s Sports Betting Laws

The Encore Boston Harbor was found to be in violation when the WynnBET Sportsbook permitted wagering on a Boston College women’s basketball game for a period of five hours.

Over at Plainridge Park, the Barstool Sportsbook, which is affiliated with Plainridge Park, made the error of accepting bets on a men’s basketball game that involved Merrimack College for a number of hours.

According to Judd-Stein, the MGC is going to review the case again at its meeting on February 14, when it will have access to new information. At this time, there are no numbers available that reveal the total amount of money that was gambled on these illicit bets.

It’s #SuperBowlLVII Sunday!

People are excited to place wagers on the first major sporting event since sports betting launched in #Massachusetts two weeks ago.

Live reports from the @barstoolsports sportsbook at @PlainridgePark all morning on @boston25! 🎰 pic.twitter.com/nSaM1EWFOA

— Julianne Lima (@JulianneLimaTV) February 12, 2023

Self-reporting, according to Heather Hall, Chief Enforcement Counsel for the Investigations and Enforcement Bureau of the MGC, is a ”key component” in the process of assessing fines and penalties. Judd-Stein made the following statement to the press that they wish to inform the public that they have remedial actions in place to prohibit such betting problems (in the future).

On Thursday, the MGC discussed the possibility of a debut date for online sports betting in Massachusetts. Karen Wells, who is the head of the MGC, said that the first online sportsbooks might start taking bets as soon as this Friday, March 10.

The men’s tournament of the NCAA Basketball Championship gets underway on March 14, while the women’s tournament gets underway on March 15. The commission said that it would take the weekend to work out the details of when online sports betting would start. This is especially important since Super Bowl betting is about to start. 

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