Massachusetts Gaming Commission Cracks Down on Adriatic Basketball Betting

• The Massachusetts Gaming Commission discussed several incidents involving bets on the prohibited Adriatic Basketball Association
• Five sports betting operators in the commonwealth accepted bets on the banned league for millions of dollars over the last year
• Operators misinterpreted commission regulations to allow the bets

Who knew the Adriatic Basketball Association was so popular in the Massachusetts sports betting market?

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission discussed a number of noncompliance issues with five licensed online sports betting operators in the commonwealth. These incidents involved the allowance of thousands of sports bets on the Adriatic Basketball Association (ABA), a prohibited league in the state’s sports betting catalogue.

ESPN BET, Caesars Sportsbook, BetMGM, Fanatics Betting and Gaming, and FanDuel all accepted bets on the banned league over the course of the last several years for millions of dollars in total handle.

How Did This Happen?

Five of the state’s seven online sports betting operators reportedly believed bets on the basketball league were permitted in the Massachusetts sports betting catalogue, Investigations and Enforcement Bureau (IEB) General Counsel Diandra Franks said during today’s MGC meeting.

The ABA has never been recognized, sanctioned, or governed by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), thus making it a prohibited sports betting market in the commonwealth. However, the ABA follows all FIBA rules for matches and tournaments, operating withing FIBA’s broader framework for international basketball competitions, Franks said.

This led the five operators to believe the league was sanctioned and recognized by FIBA, thus allowable to accept bets on ABA matches.

The following is a rundown of the timelines, bets, and total handles the five operators accepted for ABA events:

• ESPN BET: Accepted bets on the ABA Liga from Sept. 18, 2023, through Jan. 6, 2025. During this timeframe, 4,795 bets were accepted for a total handle of $311,908.43
• Caesars Sportsbook: Accepted bets on the ABA Liga from March 11, 2023, through Jan. 22, 2025. During this timeframe, 4,104 bets were accepted for a total handle of $373,046.39
• BetMGM: Accepted bets on the ABA Liga from March 10, 2023, through Jan. 24, 2025. During this timeframe, 12,477 bets were accepted for a total handle $477,703.16
• Fanatics Betting and Gaming: Accepted bets on the ABA Liga from Oct. 12, 2023, through Jan. 22, 2025. During this timeframe, 9,647 bets were accepted for a total handle of $641,543.88
• FanDuel: Accepted bets on the ABA Liga from March 3, 2023, through Jan. 6, 2025. During this timeframe, 657,850 bets were accepted for a total stake of $4,397,957.96

The stakes for all losing bets were returned to customers. Users who won bets on the ABA were allowed to keep their winnings.

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Back to IEB For Another Look

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission unanimously decided to send the noncompliance issues back to the IEB for more investigation and an eventual opinion on what should be done. The events will likely not require an adjudicatory hearing, but will potentially require a civil administrative penalty for the operators.

Commissioner Eileen O’Brien suggested in addition to a monetary fine, operators be required to undergo “an equitable remedy, such as audit compliance checks” to ensure they are in line with the state’s sports betting catalogue, rules, and regulations.

It was likely an “honest mistake,” Commissioner Nakisha Skinner said, but an IEB investigation will shed more light on how it happened.