Massachusetts Reviews Fanatics, BetMGM Compliance Lapses
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission used its November 5 meeting to review a run of sports betting compliance cases, and the staff memos published with the meeting papers give the first detailed numbers on three of them.
They cover two lapses at Fanatics Betting and Gaming, a geolocation problem at BetMGM and the proxy betting matter involving FanDuel, which has already drawn attention across the Massachusetts sports betting market.
The items appeared on the commission's meeting agenda as briefings on noncompliance and discussion of next steps. No penalties were announced in the papers, and the memos describe allegations rather than final findings.
Fanatics Referral Links
The first Fanatics matter concerns "refer a friend" bonuses. According to a memo from Enforcement Counsel Nathaniel Kennedy in the meeting materials, 71 Massachusetts users successfully ran a refer-a-friend promotion on their accounts and sent 102 referral links to 102 individuals.
The memo says that was in violation of the commission's rule on promotions, 205 CMR 247.09(4), and that the error occurred on March 27, 2026. The memo is dated October 26 and was written for the commission ahead of the meeting.
Fanatics Limit Notices
The second Fanatics case, numbered 2026-SWN-376, relates to the rules on notifying bettors when an operator limits their wagering. Senior Enforcement Counsel Zachary Mercer wrote that between July 29 and September 7, 2026, Fanatics failed to notify 132 patrons whose wagering it had chosen to limit. The memo cites 205 CMR 238.30(11) and 205 CMR 232.02(1)(c).
Fanatics has faced regulatory scrutiny elsewhere this year, including a $20,000 fine from the Colorado regulator. The Massachusetts memos do not say how Fanatics explained either lapse.
BetMGM Wagers From Outside The State
The BetMGM case, 2026-SWN-304, covers a single day: October 23, 2025. Between 8:22 a.m. and 10:31 p.m., the memo says BetMGM accepted 17 wagers with a total stake of $392 from nine accounts physically outside Massachusetts but in states where it holds a licence. It also accepted 109 wagers worth $4,936.59 from 56 accounts in places where it does not hold a licence.
Two further groups involve customers who were inside Massachusetts. The operator took three wagers totalling $66 from three accounts that should have been blocked because of their proximity to the border, and 190 wagers totalling $15,565.42 from 25 accounts that should have been blocked for device modification or software reasons. The memo cites G.L. c. 23N, section 13(b), 205 CMR 243.01 and 205 CMR 247.07(6).
The FanDuel Proxy Betting Case
The memo on FanDuel, 2026-SWN-321, concerns potential violations of the state's betting law and 205 CMR 248.17. It refers to media personality Bill Simmons, who said on his August 30, 2026 podcast that he placed proxy wagers on his FanDuel account in Massachusetts through an acquaintance who was physically in the state.
FanDuel reported to the commission that the matter involved 22 wagers with a total handle of $21,800, placed on August 5, August 7 and August 19. The memo does not set out what action the commission may take.
What Comes Next
For sportsbook operators, the cluster of cases is a reminder that Massachusetts regulators are reading their compliance reports closely, including on newer rules such as the limit notification requirement.
None of the matters involves a headline penalty yet, but the same agenda included votes on civil administrative penalties for Caesars Sportsbook and MGM Springfield over separate matters, so the commission does use that tool.
