MGC Announces New Campaign to Help Curb Athlete Harassment

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission is cracking down on athlete harassment. 

The sports betting regulator has announced a new “Bet on Respect” campaign to help catch bettors who take their anger from lost bets out on athletes, coaches, and officials. It will include a portal where those groups can file harassment complaints, which the MGC can investigate. The hope is that the portal will help the MGC act faster and more efficiently as it fights the growing issue.

Massachusetts’s new portal is already live and available for pro and college sports leagues.

New Tool For a Growing Problem

Over the last few years, the NCAA and major pro sports leagues have sounded the alarm on the growing harassment of athletes. While this wasn’t uncommon before sports betting became legal, it has grown exponentially since then. Angry bettors have taken to social media to blame their losses on others, hoping anonymity would keep them safe from repercussions. 

In a press release, MGC Chair Jordan Maynard celebrated the new portal the campaign created. 

Good-natured cheering and jeering are acceptable and even expected at sporting events, but sports wagering is an activity for adults, and adults should know better than to cross the line into harassment. Athletes, officials, and others associated with games being wagered on deserve to be free of intimidation during and surrounding competition. While this tool will be impactful, we hope its use will be limited, as patrons will know right from wrong.

A Crucial Tool for Athletes

Currently, athletes don’t have a simple way to report harassment. Teams and leagues have tried to help, but the lack of a universal process has left many victims unsure what to do.

By creating an MGC-operated portal, athletes now have clarity on how to deal with these situations. They’ll receive guidance on how to submit complaints and have people at the MGC they can discuss them with. The hope is that this will encourage more athletes to report harassment, helping hold angry bettors responsible.

If the portal leads to punishments for harassers, it could help send a strong message that could finally curb the rise of the issue. 

Questions About Portal Remain

There is reason to celebrate Massachusetts’s new campaign, but several questions remain.

One of the biggest issues is the MGC’s ability to prove allegations filed in its new portal. We have seen sports leagues struggle with this for years, often ending up in a situation where it's an athlete’s word versus the accused harasser's. This can lead to long, expensive lawsuits for leagues trying to protect players, often with no penalties imposed.

To avoid these situations, complainants will need to provide witnesses and details that can help the MGC investigate after the fact. That can be difficult, especially given how quickly witnesses' memories can begin to fade.