The Massachusetts Gaming Commission is reviewing comments made by sports podcaster Bill Simmons after he said on his show that another person placed FanDuel wagers for him. Massachusetts sports-betting rules bar proxy betting. The commission has not indicated a timeline for concluding its review.
MGC spokesman Thomas Mills confirmed that staff are reviewing the matter in comments to CDC Gaming. The review concerns remarks Simmons made on a recent episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast.
What Simmons Said
Simmons, the founder of The Ringer, said his daughter’s boyfriend placed wagers for him in Massachusetts on multiple occasions while Simmons was in California, where sports betting is not legal. He said he did not know the arrangement violated proxy-betting rules.
In discussing the situation, Simmons said he had his daughter’s boyfriend log in to his FanDuel account and place bets for him. He also said the wagers would be voided and that he had learned from the episode.
The account activity described by Simmons involved a person placing wagers for another bettor through that bettor’s account. Massachusetts prohibits that type of arrangement under its sports-betting framework.
FanDuel’s Response
FanDuel does not permit proxy betting under its terms and conditions. A company spokeswoman said the wagers connected to the account activity were voided, the account was actioned, and the matter was reported to the MGC in line with state gaming regulations.
FanDuel is The Ringer’s exclusive sports-betting partner. As of Wednesday, the webpage listing the show’s latest episode carried a message about The Ringer’s commitment to responsible gaming and linked to FanDuel’s Play with a Plan resource.
Why Proxy Betting Is Prohibited
Massachusetts allows retail and mobile sports betting, but its rules prohibit a person from placing a wager on another person’s behalf or from using another bettor’s mobile sportsbook account to make wagers. Such restrictions are intended to prevent people from placing bets remotely from jurisdictions where wagering is illegal or where an operator is not licensed.
Proxy betting can also allow underage users to circumvent the state’s 21-year-old age requirement. Regulators also treat account access as an integrity concern because another person’s account can be used to mask a bettor’s identity.
The issue has appeared in other sports-betting cases. In 2024, former Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter was banned for life from the NBA after using an associate’s betting account to place at least 13 wagers on NBA games. The MGC review of the Simmons matter remains ongoing, with no timetable identified by the commission.
Source: GamingAmerica
When he is not analysing the latest compliance updates or dissecting quarterly operator results, Florian follows Bundesliga football closely and maintains a healthy skepticism toward anyone claiming to have cracked a winning betting system. He brings a grounded, insider-aware perspective to his writing and is always more interested in the structural story behind the headline than the headline itself.