Bill Simmons, a sports podcaster, is being investigated by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) after he admitted on a recent episode to proxy betting, by placing wagers through his daughter’s boyfriend.
The MGC confirmed the investigation on Wednesday, after Simmons admitted that on multiple occasions he logged into his daughter’s boyfriend’s FanDuel account to place bets in Massachusetts.
“The Commission is aware of the comments made on the Bill Simmons Podcast and staff are currently reviewing this matter,” said MGC spokesman Thomas Mills.
Simmons, founder of The Ringer, was physically located in California, where sports betting is illegal. In Massachusetts, retail and mobile wagering is legal and regulated, but proxy betting is illegal.
Proxy betting is defined as having another person place a wager on your behalf or letting someone else log into your mobile sportsbook account to execute wagers for you. FanDuel does not allow proxy betting. As a result, FanDuel voided the bets and actioned his account, according to a company spokeswoman.
“We became aware of the issue and handled it consistent with our terms and conditions and Massachusetts Gaming Commission regulations, including reporting the matter to the MGC,” the company said.
The restrictions on proxy betting exist because people can use proxies to place wagers from states or countries where sports betting is illegal or where a specific sportsbook is not licensed.
Other reasons for the restrictions include underage individuals using a proxy to place wagers through an older user’s verified account to get around the 21-year-old age requirement. In addition, proxy betting has been used in sports betting scandals to mask the identity of a bettor using insider information.
In 2024, Jontay Porter, who played for the NBA’s Toronto Raptors, was banned for life from the league after he used an associate’s online sports betting account to place at lease 13 wagers on NBA games.
In a new episode of released Tuesday, Simmons said he was unaware that such bets were illegal.
“I talked about how I got my daughter’s boyfriend to place some bets for me in Massachusetts, because I was in (Los Angeles). I didn’t know about the proxy rules,” Simmons said. “Yeah, there are some real rules with this stuff, and they’ve ruled that not only are the best going to voided … and I learned my lesson.”
FanDuel is the exclusive sports betting partner of The Ringer. As of Wednesday, a message that “The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming” with a link to FanDuel’s Play with a Plan website was still on the webpage listing the show’s latest episode.
