Sports bettors who harass athletes online or in person could find themselves excluded from sports betting and the state’s three casinos, under a new initiative implemented by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC).
The initiative called “Bet on Respect” allows leagues, players’ associations, college athletic programs, and sports venues to self-report suspected harassment, whether online or in person.
To implement the new program, the MGC cited state gaming regulation 205 CMR 152, which governs the involuntary exclusion and ejection of individuals from all licensed gaming establishments and sports betting platforms in Massachusetts. The official exclusion list includes those banned individuals whose presence threatens public trust, safety, or the integrity of gaming and sports.
Reasons for inclusion on the list covers cheats, individuals who have violated gaming laws, tax cheats, and those posing a direct threat to the state.
“Athletes, officials, and others associated with games being wagered on deserve to be free of intimidation during and surrounding competition,” MGC Chairman Jordan Maynard said in a statement. “While this tool will be impactful, we hope its use will be limited as patrons will know right from wrong.”
The Commission has established a new portal to report suspected abuse, with the Sports Wagering Division collecting the information and the MGC’s Investigations and Enforcement Bureau (IEB) investigating the harassment claims.
Upon review of the evidence, the IEB has three courses of action:
- Take further investigatory action, including using subpoena power to gather additional evidence and/or identify the perpetrator.
- Determine the incident does not meet the criteria for exclusion.
- Determine the incident does meet the criteria for exclusion and begin the exclusion process.
Patrons placed on the exclusion list will receive a letter via first-class mail notifying them of the decision. The patron has 30 days to appeal the decision.
The new initiative has the support of the Boston Bruins, Boston Celtics, Boston Legacy FC, Boston Red Sox, New England Patriots, New England Revolution, and the NCAA.
In announcing their new initiative, the MGC cited an NCAA study that found that student-athletes face significant abuse and bullying online. The research noted that 51% of all Division 1 men’s basketball players have faced online abuse regarding their athletic performance. Forty-six percent of those student athletes reported that abuse was directly tied to gambling.
The MGC also said the Bet on Respect initiative was supported by Bally Bet, BetMGM, MGM Springfield, Caesars Entertainment, DraftKings, Encore Boston Harbor, Fanatics Betting and Gaming, FanDuel, Penn Entertainment, and Plainridge Park Casino.
FanDuel expressed its support for the initiative with a statement on X.
“FanDuel is proud to support the (MGC’s) Bet on Respect initiative and its efforts to address athlete harassment,” FanDuel said. “We maintain a zero-tolerance policy toward abusive conduct and will continue working with regulators, leagues, and teams to help foster a safe and respectful environment for everyone involved in sports.”
Other states have passed legislation in an effort to crack down on harassment of athletes. In 2024, the West Virginia Legislature passed and Republican Governor Jim Justice signed House Bill 4700, which gave the state lottery commission the ability to ban persons from sports betting who have harassed or shown a pattern of harmful conduct directed at any person involved in sporting events.
Messages left with the West Virginia Lottery Commission seeking information on how many people have been banned since the law went into effect were not returned.
In May, Republican Governor Jeff Landry signed Senate Bill 325 that requires the Louisiana Gaming Control Board (LGCB) to exclude persons from participating in sports betting who “before, during, or after a sporting event threaten violence or harm against any person who is involved in the sporting event, where the threat is related to sports gaming.”
The bill went into effect on August 1.
“In my opinion there is a serious and growing problem with harassment of athletes,” Ronnie Jones, a gaming regulatory consultant and former LGCB chairman, told CDC Gaming. “It’s despicable to go after a player.”
Jones said the NCAA’s study on harassment of athletes was “incredibly disturbing to me as a former regulator.” He supported the LGCB’s approach to crafting regulations, saying it’s more appropriate than a general statute criminalizing the conduct.
“Attaining a criminal conviction is always going to be a heavier lift than pursuing an administrative sanction,” Jones told CDC Gaming. “And let’s face it, prolific sports bettors fear exclusion from betting far more than a criminal fine.”
