- DraftKings was fined more than $450,000 by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission for accepting credit card deposits.
- DraftKings is required to refund all affected customer deposits, complete an independent compliance audit, and implement a corrective action plan to prevent similar violations.
BOSTON – The Massachusetts Gaming Commission fined DraftKings $450,000 after it was found to have accepted over $83,000 in sports wagers funded by credit cards, which is prohibited under state law.
Sports betting sites that accept credit cards are illegal in Massachusetts due to specific provisions in state law aimed at promoting responsible gambling and preventing problem debt.
The restriction that Massachusetts betting sites must follow comes from MA General Laws Chapter 23N. Under this law, wagering with a credit card is explicitly prohibited, particularly to discourage bettors from using borrowed funds for gambling.
Specifically:
- From March 2023 through February 2024, DraftKings allowed customers to deposit funds using credit cards to place bets.
- These deposits totaled over $83,000 across more than 1,100 wagers made by out-of-state credit card users. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission’s ruling requires that those funds also must be returned to the gamblers.
- This breached Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 23N and Massachusetts Gaming Commission rules, which prohibit credit card transactions for legal sports betting to protect consumers and prevent gambling-related debt.
Even though DraftKings self-reported part of the issue, incomplete testing and remediation allowed violations to continue into early 2024, leading to regulatory action and a $450,000 fine.
