Are the days of sports books throttling action from successful players coming to an end? That’s definitely something that the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) is considering as it digs into the very common industry practice after winning players complained that there is no regulatory transparency with regards to what it takes to get throttled.
Representatives from the compliance side of the sports business were on hand for the meeting with the MGC earlier this week and explained some of the factors that can contribute to a player’s action getting limited. BetMGM Deputy General Counsel Jeremy Kolman explained that four factors are generally used to make that determination including players who always seem to find inaccurate lines; players who continually bet large amounts on low liquidity/high volatility plays; players who wager inconsistent amounts (likely arbitrage players); and those are involved in betting syndicates, according to a report from SBC Americas.
Commissioners were particularly interested in the practice of throttling players who are live-betting from actual games. Industry officials say that those players can make wagers ahead of the official line, which gives them an advantage. Commissioner Eileen O’Brien wasn’t convinced this practice was necessary saying,“I’ll be blunt. What I hear as a regulator is that maybe you shouldn’t be offering the product if the technology is like that and fluctuating so much.”
Officials from BetMGM said that about one percent of players are throttled while a FanDuel representative said that 0.043 percent of wagers are throttled.
This week’s meeting was meant to be informative and no regulatory action is expected to come out of the discussion. That said, this is an issue that is certain to come up more as US sports bettors become more experienced, and more accurate.