No betting on Alabama baseball
Mass. operators stop action amid scandal
Sports bettors in Massachusetts are no longer allowed to wager on University of Alabama baseball in the aftermath of alleged suspicious betting activity involving former coach Brad Bohannon.
The absence stems from integrity concerns of the state’s retail and mobile operators rather than specific action from the Mass. Gaming Commission, which oversees the sports betting industry and is monitoring the Crimson Tide case.
According to ESPN, the university fired Bohannon, 47, on Thursday after he was connected to an individual who placed two significant wagers on Louisiana State University last Friday at an Ohio sports book prior to the announcement that Alabama was scratching its starting pitcher. ESPN also noted suspicious wagers also were reported in Indiana.
Ohio, Indiana, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania sports betting regulators ordered a halt to bets on Alabama baseball.
The issue was raised by commissioner Eileen O’Brien at an MGC meeting on Thursday. Bruce Band, the director of sports wagering, said at the meeting the commission was aware Massachusetts operators already had suspended betting.
“At this point I don’t think that we really need to take action, but we continue to keep a close eye on it,” said Band. “In a couple of jurisdictions there were some issues, but in Massachusetts, I haven’t seen wagers that are potential problems for us at this time.”
The suspicious betting activity in Ohio and Indiana was reported by US Integrity, one of several companies licensed by states, leagues, and sports books to monitor unusual odds movements or unexpectedly large bets that could be associated with insider information gained by unscrupulous methods.
Band noted the MGC receives roughly 15 to 20 alerts per week that may or may not pertain to sports offered in Massachusetts, and that while the state assesses each of them, “a lot of them don’t pan out.”
The suspicious bets in Ohio were placed at a BetMGM sportsbook located inside Great American Ball Park, the home of Major League Baseball’s Cincinnati Reds.
“We work closely with our suspicious activity monitoring provider, US Integrity, regulatory bodies, and law enforcement when necessary,” said a BetMGM spokesperson in an e-mail. “We’re actively working with the OCCC [Ohio Casino Control Commission] on this incident and won’t be providing additional commentary at this time.”
A Plainridge Park Casino spokesperson said Alabama baseball was taken down from its sports book and the Barstool Sports online app as soon as the media reports surfaced this week.
DraftKings and FanDuel did not respond to requests for information and comment about how they responded to the incident, but Alabama’s Friday night game against Vanderbilt as well as Alabama as an option in futures bets was not available on their apps as well as Caesars’ online app.
Wynn Resorts, owner of Boston Encore Harbor and its retail sports book as well as the mobile WynnBET app, did not have to take action.
“WynnBET does not book college baseball games and did not offer futures before the season on college baseball,” said Wynn Resorts’ Seth Medvin in an e-mail. “This applies to all of the states in which we operate.”
In the game associated with the suspicious activity, LSU, a heavy favorite, beat Alabama.
In statements made to ESPN, both the NCAA and Southeastern Conference, which prohibit coaches, athletes and personnel from sports betting, made evident their concern over the allegations. Alabama is an SEC school.
“The NCAA takes sports wagering very seriously and is committed to the protection of student-athlete well-being and the integrity of competition,” an NCAA spokesperson said. “We will work with our partners to protect student-athletes and the sports they play. The association is monitoring the situation. Due to confidentiality rules put in place by NCAA member schools, the NCAA does not comment on current, pending or potential investigations.”
Said SEC commissioner Greg Sankey: “The University of Alabama has taken swift action after information about baseball sports wagering activity was questioned by industry regulators. Ensuring the integrity of athletic competition is our highest priority, and for that purpose the SEC monitors gambling activity through its relationship with US Integrity and has done so since 2018. There must be zero tolerance for activity that puts into question the integrity of competition. We will remain in communication with the University throughout its ongoing review and will have no further comment at this time.”
The college baseball case comes shortly after the NFL suspended five players, four Detroit Lions and a Washington Commander, for violating its gambling policy.