The Massachusetts Gaming Commission met for six hours and 45 minutes last Thursday, discussing what the future of sports betting was going to look like in the commonwealth.
At the very end of the meeting – literally, the last item, and it wasn't even on the agenda – Commissioner Nakisha Skinner raised a point that, to the best of my knowledge, has never been discussed at the political and/or regulatory level.
And one day, when the history of American sports betting is written, Skinner's point may rival Paul Revere's “The British are coming!” as the most important few minutes in Massachusetts history.
“I've been wondering about this,” Skinner began. “We've been getting public comment on the sports wagering operators and their practice of shutting off bettors who are making money off of their bets. I wonder if it makes sense for the commission to give a position publicly in terms on how we view that. … Maybe we should have that discussion in one of the upcoming meetings. To understand it myself, but also to communicate it with the public and what our expectations are there.”
Revere-related hyperbole aside, Skinner may one day be considered a hero to American sports bettors. Imagine – the old-school model, enshrined in Massachusetts law. Sure, there would be limits, but they'd be the same for everyone. What a concept.
Honestly, there's a lot of poetry here.
The British (sports betting model) is already here, and much like in 1775, the first shots of the revolution are being fired in Massachusetts.
Oh paging @capjack2000 and @spanky! The MGC commissioners are discussing if they need a stance on the practice of limiting or banning sharp bettors.
— Jessica Welman (@jesswelman) January 12, 2023
Down over $1,000 – and limited
I got limited at bet365 in New Jersey'the other day. I had previously been limited at PointsBet,'seemingly because I bet the sportsbook’s boosts every day and nearly nothing else. I had also previously been limited at BetMGM for reasons I couldn't tell you.
But the bet365 limit, well, this one confuses me.
I've had the account for a few years, but barely touched it. Then I stumbled upon a “super boost” on Nov. 21 – over 0.5 goals in the USA vs. Wales World Cup match. Boosted from -1000 to +100, with a $15 limit. No-brainer. Bet it and won.
Now bet365 had my attention. I would check them out on the daily and see if they had more of these super boosts.
Three days later, they did, a Josh Allen passing yardage prop boosted from -290 to +100. I bet it. I won.
I made a few other bets, won a few, lost a few. Then – full disclosure – I started arb-ing. Sacre bleu, right? Not my fault, though; it was easy money. Basically, the spread between bet365's odds and other sportsbooks’ odds were often separated by enough that it was guaranteed money. Obviously I'm not the first to do this, won't be the last, but if they're going to post, for instance, Kentucky giving 7.5 points to Iowa in the Music City Bowl at +400, and I can get Iowa getting 7.5 points at FanDuel at -320, I'm going to bet it. I was allowed to bet $375 on Kentucky at bet365, and I netted $72 on the wager.
Easy game, right?
Even better for bet365: Kentucky didn't cover the 7.5 points. Nor did they cover the 9.5 points, or the 10.5 points, both bets that I made on the site.
In fact, since I made that first World Cup bet, I made 31 other bets at bet365, with 24 of them at plus-odds. I won 12 bets, one was voided, and two I immediately cashed out, as I found better odds elsewhere.