Regulators at the Massachusetts Gaming Commission will determine whether people under the legal gambling age of 21 are using mobile platforms to wager on sports, and whether gambling platforms operating in Massachusetts are preventing them from doing so. I am interested in what efforts are being made to improve the situation.
Commissioners raised the topic Monday when four sports betting companies submitted their quarterly reports to the commission. Commissioner Brad Hill said meetings and conversations the Gaming Commission had with “external sources” raised “concerns that some minors may be using the computers and passwords of people of gambling age.” He said it was made clear.
Massachusetts’ Sports Betting Act of 2022 requires gamblers to be at least 21 years old to bet at one of three physical sportsbooks or one of eight commission-approved online/mobile betting platforms. We sought. The law also requires operators to “use commercially reasonable efforts to prevent persons under the age of 21 from placing bets.”
In its Monday filing, the operating company reported that a total of eight accounts were suspended for use by minors in July, August, and September, but commissioners said this was more than the number of suspected cases that could be substantiated. He said he thought it was not too much. Operators detailed the steps they take to ensure that those placing bets are authorized to open an account.
“Example: I can bet. My 16-year-old knows my password. I allow him to go inside and place bets. We didn’t have any evidence of it, but that’s all it was happening — could you enlighten us? [of] Hill asked a Caesars Sportsbook representative what protocols are in place to prevent something like this from happening. Because, as I said in this meeting with external sources, if someone wants to cheat, they will cheat. ”
Curtis Lane Jr., Digital Compliance Manager at Caesars Sportsbook, identifies accounts that may be controlled by someone other than the registrant, including understanding gambling activity from a distance. explained to the committee some of the steps the company is taking to , flag unusual betting patterns, or identify accounts that are used on multiple devices. Other operators that submitted third-quarter results to the commission on Monday (DraftKings, Penn Sports Interactive, and WynnBet) also each raised the topic of minors using their apps, and all similarly He said he uses the same method.
“To reiterate what one of our committee members said, the bottom line is that bad parenting is hard to crack down on, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t enough regulation against it.” said Jake List, senior director. A DraftKings administrator said. He said DraftKings’ “Know Your Customer” (KYC) regime includes identity verification, geo-compliance tools to check if a user’s device is recognized by other programs the user has signed up for, and Some require new users to upload a copy. of their ID.
DraftKings reported to the commission that it suspended five accounts in Massachusetts in the last quarter due to allegations of underage gambling. “These users allege that a minor (usually a family member) placed bets on an adult user’s account, or that there was other evidence to support that the account was being operated,” the company’s presentation states. ” included a disclaimer. A minor who is not the account holder. ”
Adam Cates, senior director of compliance at Penn Sports Interactive, told commissioners the company switched to its own back-end technology in July. As part of that switch, Penn City is now requiring anyone creating a new sports betting account to upload both a government-issued ID and a real-time selfie.
“We’re not in a situation where you can upload a photo of someone. Your phone’s camera actually opens up, takes a selfie, and our vendor actually matches your face to the face on that ID. So this “This is a very good control measure to ensure who you are transacting with and that the person signing up for the account is actually the person who should be holding the account,” he said. . “As for how this fits into the minors spectrum, we found it much harder for teenagers to open an account using their parent’s information. Add an ID and a selfie. In order to open an account you will need to keep your ID and phone.
After four presentations, Hill said, “I was very pleased with what I heard today and was actually pleasantly surprised by what I heard today.” He said he would share information with anyone who raised concerns about underage gambling, but said it was also something the Gambling Commission monitored.
“I think this is something that we need to continue to look at and work together to ensure that it is a priority for carriers,” he said. “I think over the next few weeks and months and into the new year, the question will be how do we get this information to high school and college students, given their age.”
Commissioner Jordan Maynard said at the end of the meeting that the commission needs to think about how to strengthen KYC measures and raise awareness about underage gambling.
“I’m going to tell my parents, listen, you can literally create an account in your mother’s name starting today, because I know everything about her. Where she got married, where she was born. I know if they graduated high school, I know what their birthday is,” he said. “And I think educating parents that there may be dummy accounts that need to be monitored on their devices is an overarching strategy. I think KYC is part of that.”