The MGM Springfield casino was fined more than $47,000 by regulators Thursday for accepting wagers on two college basketball games involving Massachusetts teams.
State law prohibits betting on contests involving in-state collegiate teams except for when they are playing in tournaments.
The games were both last year. The first one addressed by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission involved a men’s game between Northeastern University and LaSalle on November 11, 2023. The other a UMass versus Siena contest on December 30.
Diandra Franks is the enforcement counsel with the gaming commission. She told commissioners in the first instance, a single $5 wager was made as part of a parlay bet, which combines multiple results chosen by the bettor.
In the second instance, six wagers were made totaling nearly 200 dollars.
"One was a straight wager which won and was paid out," Franks said. "Four out of five were parlay wagers which lost on other legs, so the entire bets were losers, and one parlay wager only lost on the prohibited leg, so the player was paid out based on the approved legs of the parlay."
The commission’s investigations and enforcement bureau recommended a $22,500 fine for the first offense, and a $25,000 penalty for the second. The commission voted unanimously to impose both.
Franks said MGM Springfield accepted responsibility for the errors, agreed with the penalties and has taken corrective action.
This is not the first time the Springfield casino has been cited by regulators for a similar violation. Last year, it was fined $20,000 by the state gaming commission for accepting wagers on two Harvard men’s basketball games. At the time, MGM said it had instituted a daily audit of offerings at the sportsbook before it opened and pledged to conduct a quarterly audit to ensure accuracy.
