Massachusetts Sports Betting Regulators Announce Zero Tolerance for Athlete Harassment

• The Massachusetts Gaming Commission today announced the “Bet on Respect” awareness campaign
• The commission has opened a new portal for athletes, coaches, and league representatives to report suspected harassment
• Boston Bruins, Celtics, Revolution, and Red Sox representatives appeared in a promotional video for the new campaign

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission today announced its “Bet on Respect” awareness campaign, which includes a new way for professional athletes, coaches, and league representatives to report harassment from sports bettors.

If found to be harassing athletes, either online or in-person, Massachusetts sports bettors may find themselves banned from accessing sports betting and casinos in the Commonwealth.

“Good-natured cheering and jeering are acceptable and even expected at sporting events, but sports wagering is an activity for adults, and adults should know better than to cross the line into harassment,” Jordan Maynard, Massachusetts Gaming Commission Chair, said in a press release. “Athletes, officials, and others associated with games being wagered on deserve to be free of intimidation during and surrounding competition. While this tool will be impactful, we hope its use will be limited as patrons will know right from wrong.”

New Portal for Harassment Incidents

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission today also unveiled a new portal for league representatives, players’ associations, college athletics programs, sports venues, or even players themselves to report suspected abuse.

The MGC will fully investigate each reported instance of alleged abuse. If patrons are found to have committed such acts, they may be subject to involuntary exclusion from sports betting platforms or casinos.

The NCAA has monitored and studied the issue and found student athletes face significant abuse and bullying online. Research shows that 51% of Division I men’s basketball student athletes have faced online abuse regarding their athletic performance, with 46% of them reporting abuse as directly tied to gambling.

Anyone excluded by the program will be provided with information about programs and support for those who may be facing gambling harms.

Boston Sports Representatives, MGC Team Up

The MGC and a number of Boston sports representatives today published a video on YouTube in support of the new Bet on Respect awareness campaign. Members of the Boston Bruins, Boston Celtics, Boston Red Sox, and New England Revolution discouraged viewers from harassing an athlete in connection with sports wagering. 

“Losing a bet doesn’t give you the right to come after an athlete,” Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens said in the video.

The Bet on Respect initiative has the support of the Boston Bruins, Boston Celtics, Boston Legacy FC, Boston Red Sox, New England Patriots, New England Revolution, the NCAA, Bally Bet, BetMGM/MGM Springfield, Caesars, DraftKings, Encore Boston Harbor, Fanatics Betting and Gaming, FanDuel, Penn Entertainment/Plainridge Park Casino.