Massachusetts Lawmakers To Discuss Limits Imposed On Winning Sports Bettors

Massachusetts lawmakers are expected to discuss imposing limits on winning sports bettors. Sportsbooks have already placed a $100 wager cap on one Bay State gambler after the patron won his initial bet.

Massachusetts gambler issued $50 max wager limit after winning $13,500 from Super Bowl LVIII prop bet

The patron wagered $375 on any non-QB throwing a touchdown pass in Super Bowl LVIII. At +3500 odds, the gambler won $13,500 after San Francisco 49ers WR Jauan Jennings hit RB Christian McCaffrey with a 21-yard TD pass in the second quarter.

The bettor had no limits on his FanDuel account prior to the Super Bowl. Since winning, his wagers have been limited to $50. He told the Boston Herald in a recent interview that both ESPN BET and DraftKings have issued him a max wager cap. Bookies.com confirmed the wager limits as well, according to the site.

“At DK, I bet some overnight college basketball total, beat the line, and they decided to limit me. It’s gotten worse and worse,” the gambler said.

The frustrated bettor is not alone. Other gamblers in the Commonwealth have shared similar experiences about their own wager limits at legal online books after consistent winning.

Alas, sportsbooks have only ignored patrons’ complaints on social media.

Sports Wagering Operator Wager Limitations Roundtable will be held this Tuesday to discuss max wagers

On Tuesday, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission will hold the first open public hearing of the post-PASPA era in any legal jurisdiction concerning betting limits placed on patrons.

“We’re engaged. Our teams here are meeting about what it looks like. As you know, we are the first jurisdiction that I know of to tackle this kind of head on, and so we want to make sure that we get this right. We don’t want to rush this conversation. We want to make sure all the appropriate voices are at the table,” interim MGC Chair Jordan Maynard told bookies.com in April when asked about wager limits.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) is holding the “Sports Wagering Operator Wager Limitations Roundtable” this Tuesday. Of course, the roundtable will include representatives of the legal retail and online operators in the Commonwealth.

The Pilgrim State currently has seven licensed online operators, six of which are active: Bally’s (will launch by July), BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, ESPN BET, Fanatics, and FanDuel.

Not one licensed sportsbook in Massachusetts has made it publicly known how many bettors have been limited because they won. Operators also have yet to inform winning patrons why they are being issued max wagers. Bookies are limiting players who win, but they’re not putting limits on those who lose.

However, one could infer that limits are necessary in order for operators to help maintain profitability. Sportsbooks have every right to refuse wagers or place dollar limits on the wager amount, per user agreements.

Licensed sportsbook operators at the public roundtable will be asked four questions

According to the Boston Herald, after a review of the public commentary is received on this matter, the operators present at Tuesday’s public roundtable will be asked to discuss the following:

1. Please detail how and why a patron may be limited on your platform, including how you may limit patrons on an individual basis.

2. Please explain the experience of a patron once they become limited.
What are the responsible gaming implications if patron limits are more heavily regulated?

3. What would be the impacts to the industry if allowing limits on individual patrons was prohibited or limited by law or regulation?

4. What are other jurisdictions and/or other sportsbooks doing?

If the MGC decides any rule changes are necessary, it will propose a regulation to affect those changes. A public hearing will be held on potential regulation after it is agreed upon. It seems the sportsbooks are well within their rights to issue wager limits. It will take a miracle for the state to remove max wager limits for winning patrons.

A final vote will be made to determine whether further action is needed.

Moreover, retail sports betting in Massachusetts first launched on Jan. 31, 2023. Likewise, mobile sports betting followed on March 10, with the launch of the six sportsbooks listed above.