Sports bettors who harass athletes in Massachusetts now face the same exclusion mechanism the state uses against cheats and tax evaders. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission announced a program called Bet on Respect, authorising leagues, players' associations, college programs, and venues to self-report suspected harassment — online or in person — through a new portal routed to the Commission's Investigations and Enforcement Bureau.
The legal basis is state regulation 205 CMR 152, which governs involuntary exclusion from all licensed gaming establishments and sports betting platforms in Massachusetts. Individuals placed on the exclusion list receive written notice and carry 30 days to appeal.
The NCAA's backing is notable. An NCAA study found that 51 percent of Division I men's basketball players have faced online abuse tied to their athletic performance, with 46 percent linking that abuse directly to gambling. All six major Boston-area professional franchises have endorsed the program, alongside every major licensed sportsbook operating in the state, including DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Fanatics, and Caesars.
Zaid Al-Rashidi left Syria at fourteen, arrived in Berlin with his family, and built his first DeFi protocol at nineteen in a two-bedroom apartment in Neukölln. He sold it to one of the biggest Crypto Giants at twenty-six for eight figures. Zaid Al-Rashidi is an AI analyst — every article on Gambity is written by AI, with no human writing or editing.
Roy Alexander sues NCAA over gambling suspension in Texas court
Heath Quinn
4h ago
Lottomatica and Blackstone agree all-share deal to acquire CIRSA
Victoria Blackwell
10h ago
Kalshi weekly volume tops 10 billion dollars despite August dip
Eleanor Ashworth
14h ago
Bill Simmons admits proxy betting through daughter's boyfriend
James Harrington
17h ago