The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) is penalizing some of the largest sports betting operators in the state for a wide range of noncompliance violations.
The MGC has handed civil penalties totaling $80,500 to five operators: BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, Fanatics and FanDuel. Commissioners levied the penalties during a hearing last week in which they discussed the violations, which were all self-reported by the relevant operator to Massachusetts’ gaming regulator.
“We, as a commission, come down pretty hard on the operators in these noncompliance matters where we need to, and with good reason,” said MGC Commissioner Nakisha Skinner during the hearing. “But the operators have stepped up their review of these matters and the protocol and remedial measures they have put in place to catch them.”
The MGC handed the operators fines for several violations, including the improper delivery of college player props and a failure to adhere to the regulator’s betting market standards. The first violation occurred in September 2023, with the last taking place in July 2025.
“These are retrospective,” said MGC Chair Jordan Maynard. “We’re looking back on pretty much close to the launch of sports wagering in Massachusetts in some of these cases.”
The MGC unanimously voted to approve the fines for the impermissible wagering.
FanDuel & Caesars each hit with one civil penalty
Caesars and FanDuel eached received one fine from the MGC.
FanDuel received a $5,000 civil administrative penalty for a college player prop violation. The Flutter-owned brand improperly accepted wagers in September 2023 on a player prop market for several Nebraska football games. The markets involved the team’s former quarterback, Jeff Sims. The illicit player prop markets were tied to his passing yardage.
FanDuel was handed the fine as the MGC bans college player props on all NCAA athletes. The MGC’s fine levied against FanDuel was the lowest penalty handed out by the regulator.
Meanwhile, Caesars was fined $10,000 for accepting improper wagers on the UEFA European Championships soccer tournament in 2024. The illicit betting markets offered by Caesars involved red cards, with the operator accepting six improper wagers that totaled $8,270. The MGC considered the red card betting markets illicit as the regulator prohibits wagers tied to officiating.
NCAA betting markets cause issues
The MGC fined BetMGM, DraftKings and Fanatics twice each. Several of those fines were for improper college player prop markets, with Fanatics being handed the highest fine for the college blunders.
Fanatics was fined $7,500 for accepting 36 wagers on the winner of the 2025 Heisman Memorial Trophy between January 2025 and March 2025. The bets totaled $545.
BetMGM and DraftKings were both fined $6,500 each for college-related mistakes.
DraftKings was penalized for that amount for accepting 13 improper wagers in 2024 totaling $457 on former University of Michigan running back Blake Corum.
The Boston-based operator was also ordered to pay a $10,000 fine by the MGC for providing player prop markets for an NCAA basketball game. The 90 illicit basketball bets totaled $1,600. The impermissible basketball markets available for two hours.
BetMGM received a $6,500 fine for accepting a $10 player prop wager on former UNLV receiver Ricky White’s receiving yards market. The violation occurred in October 2024.
UFC bouts lead to additional fines
In addition to the illicit college markets, Fanatics and BetMGM were also fined for violations related to UFC betting markets. Fanatics was fined $20,000—the highest penalty levied by the MGC during its latest round of fines—for allowing 154 impermissible wagers on a UFC bout involving bantamweight fighter Petr Yan. The violations occurred in July 2025.
BetMGM was also fined for betting markets related to Yan and the UFC. The operator was fined $15,000 by the MGC for accepting improper wagers in 2024 and 2025.
Tough start to the year for BetMGM
BetMGM’s fines for improper college prop and UFC markets come after a MGC report found that the operator allegedly sent MLB promotional emails to nearly 4,000 people under the age of 21, violating Massachusetts’ gaming rules.
The company also allegedly sent promotional emails to 19 people on the state’s self-exclusion list and 25 people who were in a “cool-off” period from gambling.
BetMGM attributed the errors to an “individual employee who failed to abide by BetMGM’s internal protocols regarding promotions.” The MGC has yet to penalize BetMGM for the promotional violations, but plans to hold an adjudicatory hearing on the matter.
The MGC’s previous civil penalties
The MGC has handed a new round of fines after imposing a series of penalties in 2025.
Last July, the MGC fined DraftKings $450,000 for multiple incidents that occurred between 2023 and 2024. The incidents involved allowing customers to deposit with credit cards. The use of credit cards to fund sports betting accounts is barred under Massachusetts law.
DraftKings self-reported the violations on three separate occasions and blamed the mishaps on an internal miscommunication and software miscue within its team.
In total, DraftKings accepted more than $83,000 in credit card deposits during the period.
PENN Entertainment was also penalized $15,000 in October for an ESPN Bet segment. The segment, aired in 2024, featured ESPN host Rece Davis making an on-air comment about an NCAA men’s basketball betting pick being a “risk-free investment.”
Massachusetts gaming law prohibits “advertisements, marketing and branding in such a manner that is deceptive, false, misleading, or untrue, or tends to deceive or create a misleading impression, whether directly, or by ambiguity or omission.”
Two months after the MGC fined PENN, the regulator fined Fanatics $20,000 for allowing wagers on a college sports team in the state. The 83 wagers on a college football game in 2024 between Boston College and Michigan State totaled $3,325.
The bets were deemed impermissible as the state bans bets on state college sports teams unless they are playing in a national tournament. Fanatics self-reported the violations.
