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State of Play’s TL;DR
- Massachusetts regulators are using the Bet on Respect initiative to investigate athlete harassment by sports bettors.
- They’re imposing wagering, casino, and venue bans.
Massachusetts regulators are moving to crack down on sports bettors who harass athletes, using a new reporting and enforcement program that can lead to bans from sports wagering, casinos, and even stadiums or arenas in the state.
The push comes after the five largest US professional sports leagues and their players’ unions sent a letter to gambling regulators in 35 states and Washington, D.C. urging action against harassment and violent threats tied to betting losses.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) said its Bet on Respect initiative, announced in August, is already live and built to investigate those complaints.
How Massachusetts’ program works
The MGC said the portal allows representatives of leagues, players’ associations, college athletic programs, sports venues, or athletes themselves to report suspected abuse.
If the commission determines a person harassed an athlete online or in person, that individual could face involuntary exclusion from Massachusetts sports betting and casinos. The state also said excluded people may be barred from stadiums or arenas in Massachusetts.
The commission said people identified for exclusion will also receive information about where to seek help for gambling harms.
Sports betting has been legal in Massachusetts since 2022.
Why athlete harassment has become a gambling issue
An NCAA study released last November found that 7% of Division I men’s sports athletes reported receiving negative or threatening messages from fans who had bet on their games.
That data has helped turn athlete abuse into a regulatory issue, not just a sportsmanship concern. Massachusetts’ program gives leagues and athletes a direct path to report behavior that regulators may be able to punish through gambling-related exclusion tools.
Leonard St. Gourdin, who played football at Dartmouth College and at UMass, spoke about the pressure athletes are under.
“Academically, you’re already stressed out. Athletically, you have another stress on top of that.”
He also said he wants to raise awareness around athletes’ mental health and make sure players understand “they’re enough” beyond their performance.
Former Massachusetts lawmaker David Nangle, who discussed his own history with gambling addiction in the report, said problem gambling can fuel abusive behavior from bettors.
“I just think we need to say, when is enough enough?”
Based on reporting for David Germain for Western Mass News.
