WynnBET, the online gambling venture of Wynn Resorts, seems to be preparing to exit Massachusetts’ gambling market, a recent announcement by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) suggests.

As the MGC prepares for tomorrow’s meeting, the authority published its agenda for the event. The second entry under the Legal and Sports Wagering Division section reads that the regulator will discuss betr and WynnBET’s requests to exit the market.

As outlined in the document:

WynnBET Notice of Intent to Cease Operations pursuant to 205 CMR 258, including Request for Approval of Cessation Plan and Request for Waiver from 205 CMR 258.01(1).

MGC agenda excerpt

The news caused further concerns about WynnBET’s future among industry experts who fear that the app is failing to replicate the success of its parent company’s retail business. In 2023, Wynn Resorts announced that it would focus its online operations on states in which it already has a retail presence. However, considering that Massachusetts is one of its strongest retail states, this may mean trouble for its online brand.

WynnBET was already struggling to remain sustainable in multiple states and, in August, decided to exit a whopping eight states.

WynnBET’s downfall may be attributable to its parent company’s refusal to actively compete with other players in the market where it operates, which prevented it from gaining a significant market share.
If Wynn Resorts secures one of the downstate New York casino permits, there is a chance WynnBET might just be able to thrive. However, experts predict that the brand may be set to exit Michigan next since it already confirmed that it is reviewing its operations in New York and Michigan.

Betr Is Also Preparing to Leave

In the meantime, betr, the Miami-based newcomer to the US sports betting market, just announced its decision to exit the Massachusetts sports betting market by the end of the year. Co-founded by Joey Levy and Jake Paul, the micro-betting specialist struggled to gain traction in The Bay State.

Betr’s failure to capture the Massachusetts audiences also raised questions about the viability of the micro-betting model. While betr is optimistic about other jurisdictions, micro-betting has so far proven suboptimal in challenging established betting brands, such as DraftKings.

In other news, the Massachusetts Gambling Commission recently published the industry results for December, highlighting robust metrics.

The post WynnBET Plans to Exit Massachusetts, MGC Says appeared first on Keno Wizard.

On November 27, Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, PSI, and WynnBet presented their sports wagering Q3 results to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) chaired by Catherine Judd-Stein. 

The four operators took the opportunity to update the regulator on their recorded revenue and various approaches to a variety of initiatives including responsible gambling (RG), lottery engagement, and diversity in sports betting.

Chair Judd-Stein raised a series of concerns as a result of the presented data on responsible gambling tools, with emphasis on the low rate of utilization among consumers in the Bay State. 

DraftKings, Asked to Improve its RG Figures 

During the meeting, DraftKings, represented by senior director of regulatory operations, Jake List, explained that less than 0.1% of their customers had actively used time limits. 

Moreover, only 2.3% of them used deposit limits while 0.13% were reported using spending limits. Wager limits were only imposed by 0.4% of all users. 

Judd-Stein expressed her dissatisfaction with the numbers, asking Draftings to take action toward improving the figures. She further added that the regulator’s director of research of RG had also shown concern over the fact that “the patrons just are not utilizing” the tools. 

The chairwoman emphasized the need to make RG tools appear to be “cool” in order to stimulate customers in the state to use them while welcoming any idea that DraftKings might wish to use to “get the folks to use these.”

List responded to the chairwoman’s observations by explaining that while they will continue to push for the destigmatization of RG tools, the small percentages presented in their report actually equated to thousands of people. 

Few Minor Betting Examples

The open meeting also saw the four licensees reporting single-digit or zero examples of minors betting. 

Commissioners wanted to know the measures taken by operators to identify these examples while tackling bad parenting practices that enable children to bet using the accounts of adults in the household.

Caesars Digital’s compliance manager, Curtis Lane Jr, emphasized that while this is a difficult task, some indicators including sudden location or IP address changes might be used as hints of these offenses occurring.

DraftKings spoke about the advanced Know Your Customer tools they rely on to establish when these offenses take place, including their geo-compliant tool that matches players’ phones to see if they are recognized from other types of things they had signed up to. This way, the operator can recognize the devices used to sign up to its platform.

MGC’s commissioner, Jordan Maynard, said he did not trust that the underage betting numbers presented by the operators were “zero or single digits” when more than 70% of the 3,527 people surveyed in the National Collegiate Athletic Association survey were too young or unable to gamble for the survey. Maynard expressed disbelief at the fact that operators are currently doing everything in their power to prevent minors from gambling. 

The post MGC Chair Concerned Over Low Responsible Gambling Tool Usage appeared first on Keno Wizard.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission, the gambling regulator in the Bay State, will evaluate recent rule violations and decide whether to impose penalties. The authority will discuss the matter at a meeting scheduled for April 14.

Unfortunately, Massachusetts’ fresh sports betting market quickly attracted illegal bets. In February this year, the regulator identified two illegal wagers on collegiate sports. In total, $1,230 was bet illegally within the first month of sports betting in the state. The two bets stood at $1,150 and $80 and yielded total winnings of $1,106.

According to earlier reports, MGM Springfield accepted these wagers by mistake and was reportedly unaware of them taking place. The operator even provided the commission with details of the exact dates of the infringement.

The wagers in question were placed on basketball games featuring Harvard University. Since Massachusetts punters cannot legally bet on smaller in-state collegiate events, both bets violated the law. This happened because the university was incorrectly marked as an out-of-state institution, investigators found out.

MGM Springfield Will Be More Careful

Since the incident, BetMGM, which operates MGM Springfield, vowed to be more mindful. The operator announced that it has “reviewed and verified that all Massachusetts collegiate sports are properly restricted.”

In addition, the gambling company confirmed that it will start a daily audit of all of the available wagers. This, it said, will help it avoid bets on blacklisted events.

The matter will be further discussed on April 14 when the regulator will convene to discuss the illegal bets and decide whether punitive action is needed. The gathering was announced on the Massachusetts Gaming Commission’s official website.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission will convene an adjudicatory hearing relative to the alleged noncompliance of MGM Springfield with G.L. c. 23N, § 3; 205 CMR 247.01(2)(a)(2); and the Massachusetts Sports Wagering Catalogue.

MGC announcement

The MGC Will Address Encore’s Violations as Well

In addition to discussing MGM Springfield, the regulator will also discuss other illegal wagers that were recorded in Encore Boston Harbor. A bug in the system allowed customers to place bets on a Boston College women’s basketball game.

Fewer details have been officially released about this case. However, it is not the first time illegal wagers have been recorded at the property. As a result, the MGC will decide whether to penalize the operator.

As announced by the MGC, it will discuss the MGM matter from 1:30 pm and will continue by addressing the Encore case from 3:00 pm.

The post MGC to Consider Penalizing MGM Springfield and Encore Boston Harbor appeared first on Keno Wizard.