Massachusetts First to Introduce Regulation Regarding Sports Betting Limitations

• The Massachusetts Gaming Commission today unanimously approved a new regulation requiring operators to inform users of any sports betting limitations
• Operators will have to inform patrons in a timely fashion if they are being limited, why they are being limited, and what markets they are being limited in
• This is the first ever potential regulation regarding sports betting limitations

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If an operator is going to limit a Massachusetts sports betting patron, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission believes the customer deserves to know why at the very least.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) today unanimously approved the first ever introduced regulation on sports betting limitations, requiring licensed operators to inform users they are being limited, why they are being limited, and what markets the limitations will occur.

Before final approval, the regulation must first move through a public hearing and a second vote.

“We are the first jurisdiction in the United States to take up this issue. We will continue to study this issue,” Massachusetts Gaming Commission Chairman Jordan Maynard said today.

Not Final Yet

Maynard stressed today’s vote is the beginning of the process, as the new regulation will now head to a public hearing process to gain input from Massachusetts sports bettors, licensed sports betting operators, and other stakeholders in the commonwealth.

Carrie Torrisi, chief of the sports wagering division, presented the MGC with two new regulations for their consideration regarding limitations. The first required operators to only inform patrons if they were being limited, while the second required operators to provide a much more robust notification to limited users.

The unanimously approved regulation reads as follows:

“Procedures to provide timely notice to a patron that their wagering activity has been limited, including a specific explanation for the attachment of the limit(s), and identification as to which market(s) are so limited.”

It is the first ever approved regulation from a gaming commission regarding sports betting limitations and is the culmination of more than two years of work from the commission.

“There’s the question that remains unanswered, if that remains sufficient. I’m looking forward to continuing the conversation and looking forward to this going out to public comment. I’m going to reiterate what I’ve been saying all along. Transparency is the goal here. To get to full transparency, at the very least you have to have the information that this proposed regulation calls for made absolutely clear to patrons,” Commissioner Nakisha Skinner said.

The MGC will continue to monitor limitation data from operators moving forward to determine if the new regulation is sufficient.

Commissioner Eileen O’Brien noted the regulation is just a starting point for the commission regarding limitations. It is also an issue of “fundamental fairness” for customers, she said.

“We start here. We get comment, and we move forward. From my view, it’s not just transparency, but also fundamental fairness. This provides transparency, we get feedback and start moving in this direction, but fundamental fairness is a part of the calculus as we move forward,” she said.

Questions on Limitations Began in July 2023

The MGC became aware of the practice of limiting customers who win more than the average customer after receiving a comment from a member of the public in July 2023. The MGC started to investigate the practice, requesting all licensed operators participate in a roundtable to discuss limitations in an open meeting in May 2024.

Despite the invitation, no active Massachusetts sports betting operators attended the roundtable and were roundly decried for no-showing. A second roundtable was held in September 2024, which was attended by each licensed operators.

Over the course of the three-hour roundtable in September, operators stressed that limiting users is more about curtailing a very small percentage of customers from taking advantage of the sportsbooks while being able to safely offer a high number of markets to its more casual bettors.

Operator-provided data backed up the claims, as data showed that 0.64% of all Massachusetts sports betting accounts were limited in some fashion. However, the data also showed a clear correlation between Massachusetts sports bettors who “consistently beats the closing line” and having their limits increased, while those who consistently lose have their limits decreased.

“The operators keep telling us they’re not limiting many people. Carrie found that to be true. So, if they’re not limiting many people, they should be able to tell people why they’re limiting them and explain when they’re going to get off the limitation, when they’re coming on, and so forth,” Maynard said.