Winning gamblers face betting limits, losers made VIPs, gaming commission learns

Specific Bay State gamblers have seen the amount they are allowed to bet limited by sportsbooks after they proved too good at picking winners according to new information presented to the Gaming Commission on Tuesday In response to a request for more information on the matter issued by the commission last year the state s licensed sportsbooks have admitted to limiting the amount that certain gamblers may wager due to their winning too frequently while offering no extraordinary limit on the bets made by unlucky gamblers Analysis validated that players who consistently beat the closing line are likely to have a lower stake factor meaning have their limit lowered and players who do not consistently beat the closing line are more likely to have a higher stake factor meaning have their limit raised Carrie Torrisi head of the Mass Gaming Commission s Sports Wagering Division notified the commission According to the commission s material analysis a little more than half of of Bay State competitor accounts have seen their luck or skill met with limits on the amounts they can wager Players are not informed when they see their gambling limited and aren t informed why they have been limited Players that don t play well are more likely to find themselves labeled as VIPs and players who do well and are limited are far less likely to receive VIP medication Torrisi explained How much an account is restricted varies she reported A few are reduced to only being allowed to make wagers up to or of the operator s regular limit Selected accounts she commented about of those that are limited have seen their betting limit dropped to of the normally allowed maximum bet Commission Chair Jordan Maynard reported that while only a very small percentage of gamblers saw their bet amounts limited the content at least demonstrates that the complaints received by the commission last year that the practice is occurring have proven to be true Sportsbooks must manage pitfall he announced and patrons who take advantage of the legal area are often limited for justifiable reasons However he noted impacted players are provided little to no justification or notification when they see a limit imposed A key component to the state s decision to legalize sports betting in the first place was to do away with the illegal gambling domain Maynard reported Restricting the gambling of fruitful betters might drive them back to their black territory bookies he revealed Maynard revealed that the input analysis appears to show that it is the sports betting industry s algorithms which are to blame for largest part performer restrictions and that human intervention would be helpful in preventing problematic limitations Gamblers who aren t taking advantage of the system he noted should be allowed to participate just like everyone else This is about fairness he revealed Dustin Gouker of Closing Line Consulting was brought on to examine the issue for the commission and he reported that countless impacted players just want to know more about why their account was limited Commissioner Brad Hill mentioned that at the very least he d like to see players notified when they face a betting limit and that he d prefer they be communicated why as well His fellow commissioners agreed Maynard reported he wants to see the algorithms fixed and to see accountability for the issue Were the commission to go further than just requiring notification from bet takers that a gambler had been limited and set a restriction limit on the gambling companies Gouker explained sports books are likely to respond with fewer promotions a higher vig or by choosing other markets The commission took no immediate action in response to the figures analysis and commissioners held information regarding specific sportsbooks licensed to do business in Massachusetts for non-public executive session