Published on: June 24, 2026, 07:48h.
Updated on: June 24, 2026, 07:49h.
- MGM Springfield has agreed to pay a fine of $25,000 after its BetMGM retail sportsbook mistakenly provided odds on a 2025 college baseball match featuring Northeastern, an in-state institution.
- Massachusetts law typically prohibits betting on sports events involving local colleges within the state.
- The sportsbook quickly removed the betting option after it was noticed by regulators, having been available for roughly two hours.
MGM Springfield has accepted a $25,000 penalty for permitting its retail sportsbook to offer betting on a college baseball game involving a local school.
According to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) and its Investigations and Enforcement Bureau, the BetMGM Sportsbook at MGM Springfield inadvertently permitted bets on a 2025 NCAA men’s baseball game between the Northeastern Huskies and Campbell Camels, scheduled in North Carolina on April 5.
The 2022 sports betting legislation of Massachusetts, enacted by then-Gov. Charlie Baker (R), forbids retail and online sportsbooks from accepting bets on games featuring colleges with campuses in the state, with an exception for tournaments involving at least four teams.
The law states, “A ‘sporting event’ does not include high school sports, youth sports, or college events unless they are part of a collegiate tournament.”
Resolution by BetMGM
Prior to the April 5, 2025, contest between the Huskies and Camels in Buies Creek, NC, the MGM Springfield BetMGM Sportsbook had available odds on the college game until an MGC agent noticed the mistake.
“The betting was live for about two hours before an MGC gaming agent flagged it. However, no bets were placed on this market,” stated Diandra Franks, enforcement counsel with the MGC.
The Huskies won the game with a score of 8-1.
“MGM was cooperative and transparent during the investigation and concurs with the Investigations and Enforcement Bureau’s recommendation. Based on IEB’s analysis, communication with the operator, and guidance from the commission, the IEB recommended a $25,000 civil penalty against MGM,” Franks added.
The MGC unanimously voted 5-0 to approve the civil penalty.
Protection for Student-Athletes
Massachusetts lawmakers established the ban on college sports betting to mitigate potential threats or coercion against student-athletes.
This regulation aims to uphold the integrity of college sports by making it more difficult for student-athletes to conspire with others to fix games. The exception for tournaments was mainly created to facilitate wagering on significant events such as NCAA March Madness and the College Football Playoff.
All three land-based casinos in Massachusetts have faced penalties from the MGC for breaching the state’s college betting prohibition.
In February 2024, Encore Boston Harbor was fined $40,000 for its second offense of the in-state rule in less than a month. The sportsbook allowed bets on games involving UMass and Boston College women’s basketball teams, marking a significant penalty by the MGC for violations of the in-state college betting regulations.