FanDuel ordered to Massachusetts proxy betting hearing over Bill Simmons wagers

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission voted unanimously on Thursday to send FanDuel to an adjudicatory hearing over 22 proxy wagers, with a total handle of $21,800, placed through the account of Bill Simmons, the founder of The Ringer. Commissioners said they want to hear how the operator allowed the bets and what it did once they became public.

Simmons described the arrangement himself on his August 30 podcast. According to The Hollywood Reporter, he said his daughter's boyfriend logged into his FanDuel account in Massachusetts and placed bets for him while Simmons was in California, where online sports betting is not legal.

An Investigations and Enforcement Bureau memo put before the commission said FanDuel self-reported the 22 wagers, placed on August 5, August 7 and August 19. FanDuel, which is The Ringer's exclusive betting partner, voided the bets, reported the matter and "actioned" the account after Simmons spoke on air. Simmons later told listeners he did not know the proxy rules and had "learned my lesson."

What the commission wants from FanDuel

The hearing will look at the operator's conduct as well as Simmons's own admission. "I actually want to know how they were handling it," chair Jordan Maynard said. "I would like to hear from the operator and see how we feel going forward. I'm more interested in how the operator let this happen and the action they took after it was public."

Commissioner Eileen O'Brien pushed for the hearing, and she placed proxy betting in a wider pattern. "One of the huge issues that we've had, especially with youth and college-age people betting, has to do with proxy betting," she said. "And I've been a little disturbed by the lack of full appreciation, I think, in general to the fact that it's illegal."

She added that the case is not aimed at one well-known customer. "To me, this is not singling someone out, but this is the first one we sort of had openly referred to us as a possibility. I think it is an opportunity to have an operator do a deeper dive as well into proxy betting."

Zak Mercer, senior enforcement counsel for the bureau, said the review is at an early stage. "IEB will be digging in on all facets of this and making determinations as the facts guide us," he told the commission. The bureau is examining possible violations of the state's gambling rules.

The proxy betting rules behind the case

Massachusetts law requires operators to stop people from betting as agents or proxies for others. State rules also classify the person placing a proxy bet as a "prohibited person," and operators must block that person and confiscate the funds from those wagers.

Under that framework the compliance duty sits with the sportsbook: the operator is expected to detect and stop proxy play, which is the part of the case commissioners said they want explored.

Penalties and the other compliance cases

The bureau's summary as described at the meeting did not set out which penalties FanDuel could face. The agenda did carry penalty recommendations from the bureau in two Caesars Sportsbook cases on unauthorized events, one involving a Massachusetts college team and one an unapproved offering at MGM Springfield, which indicates the route such matters take once enforcement findings are made.

Three other compliance items were briefed. On March 27, 71 Massachusetts users of a Fanatics refer-a-friend promotion sent 102 links, a program the commission's rules do not allow. BetMGM accepted 109 wagers on Oct. 23, 2025 from 56 accounts in states where it holds no license, and 17 more from nine accounts in other licensed states; another 190 wagers came from 25 Massachusetts accounts that should have been blocked for device modification or software reasons. Between July 29 and Sept. 7, Fanatics did not notify 132 patrons whose betting it had limited.

For FanDuel, the next step is the adjudicatory hearing itself. A date for it has not been announced.