Encore Boston Harbor fined $40,000 for college sports bets
Allowed wagers on two regular season BC games
State officials recently fined Encore Boston Harbor $40,000 for accepting bets on two Boston College women’s basketball games last year, the second time the casino was sanctioned for taking improper wagers since July.
The state Gaming Commission said Monday that the Everett casino was fined for “accepting wagers on two events involving a collegiate team based in Massachusetts not competing in a tournament.” Such wagers are barred under Massachusetts law.
“The Commission issued this fine following an Investigations and Enforcement Bureau investigation and an adjudicatory hearing in which the operator participated,” the commission said.
In a statement, Encore said it holds itself “to the highest compliance standards in the industry and will adhere to the MGC’s decision.”
The commission’s Feb. 20 ruling said the illegal bets were placed on a Feb. 12, 2023, women’s basketball game between Boston College and the University of North Carolina and a women’s basketball game a week later between Boston College and the University of Louisville.
Two days after the second game, Encore’s senior VP and general counsel, Jacqui Krum, reported to the commission that the resort had allowed the bets.
Under state law, bettors can only wager on college teams in Massachusetts when those squads are competing in a collegiate tournament, such as the NCAA basketball tournament, officials said.
During the Feb. 12 regular season game between BC and UNC, wagers were permitted for about four hours, according to the ruling.
“Three wagers were placed on the game and the total amount wagered was $163,” the ruling said. “The wagers were each placed at a kiosk. There was one winning wager, which was part of a parlay, resulting in $53 in total winnings.”
During an internal audit three days later, WynnBET, the hotel’s online sportsbook, identified Massachusetts women’s collegiate basketball games available for future wagers and “manually disabled” the games, the ruling said.
“Despite manually disabling the offerings, the unauthorized events did not remain disabled,” the ruling said. “Four days later, on February 19, 2023, Encore offered wagering on the regular season Boston College v. University of Louisville women’s basketball game.”
During that contest, betting was live for two hours and 13 minutes, the ruling stated.
“Four wagers were placed on the game and the total amount wagered was $50.00,” the ruling said. “The wagers were each placed at a kiosk. There was one winning wager resulting in $9.09 in total winnings.”
Therulingsaidthe commission “appreciates” that the Encore reported the infractions “in a timely fashion,” but a fine was still in order because it was a second offense within a few weeks.
“Despite identifying the first noncompliance incident, Encore failed to resolve the underlying issue or put adequate guardrails in place, resulting in its immediate repetition,” the ruling said.