Massachusetts Gaming Commission Approves Coin Flip Bets for Super Bowl LVII

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission voted 3-2 to allow licensed sports betting operators to accepts several betting markets on the Super Bowl coin flip.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission voted 3-2 Thursday to allow licensed sports betting operators to accept several betting markets on the Super Bowl coin flip.

Operators will be able to offer coin toss result, coin toss winner, and coin toss call result bets for Sunday’s game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs.

Commissioner Brad Hill brought the issue back to the MGC after a fan at a recent basketball game he refereed yelled at him from the stands, asking if the state would allow coin flip bets during the Super Bowl.

Commission members flipped their results last year when they voted down the same proposal to allow coin flip bets by a vote of 2-3.

Commissioner Paul Brodeur swung the vote in favor of coin flips this year, as he and Commissioners Maynard and Hill voted for the new sports betting markets.

“It’s not something that can be gamed, so I’m comfortable moving forward with this,” Brodeur said.

Hill and Maynard voted in favor of the markets last year, but former MGC Chair Cathy Judd-Stein and Commissioners Eileen O’Brien and Nakisha Skinner voted against the proposal.

O’Brien pointed to the fact that no operators have petitioned the commission to add the bets to their sports betting catalogs. It’s not a “big revenue driver,” she said, and she doubts that anyone will be flocking to the unregulated markets or driving across state lines to place a bet on a coin flip.

Maynard stressed that operators should not offer the bets on short notice if they can’t offer them according to state gaming regulations.

The MGC heard three noncompliance issues, two involving Caesars and one with Penn Sports Interactive.

Penn Sports Interactive, which is partnered with ESPN BET for online sports betting in the commonwealth, allegedly sent marketing materials to eight individuals who signed up for the state’s voluntary self-exclusion list. The sportsbook also sent marketing material to 36 individuals who had self-excluded with ESPN BET, but had been active at some point in Massachusetts.

Investigations and Enforcement Bureau (IEB) general counsel Zachary Mercer noted that Penn Sports Interactive self-reported the incident. The company became aware of the error after a consumer complaint from a separate jurisdiction prompted an investigation.

Penn Sports Interactive reported the issue was due to human error from their marketing team “checking or unchecking appropriate boxes to filter communications sent to patrons.”

The MGC unanimously agreed to send the issue back to the IEB for further investigation and a recommendation on how to move forward.

The MGC also sent a noncompliance incident with Caesars Sportsbook back to the IEB for further investigation regarding the sportsbook’s knowledge based authentication question requirements.

Mercer explained to the commission that Caesars Sportsbook was out of compliance with the state’s knowledge based authentication question requirements from Sept. 1, 2023, through April 9, 2024.

Mercer said Caesars Sportsbook believed it had been in compliance with the state regulation during that time period after several discussions with the regulatory body.

Caesars believed it was in compliance with regulations until the sports wagering division informed them they were not in July 2024. They reported they had no intent to willfully disregard non-compliance.

Finally, the MGC agreed to hold an adjudicatory hearing for Caesars regarding an incident in which the sportsbook accepted bets on “total red cards” in a 2024 UEFA soccer tournament. Caesars Sportsbook accepted six bets between June 27, 2024 and July 9, 2024 for a total stake of $8,270.

State law prohibits bets on injuries, penalties, player discipline, or play review.

The erroneous bets were not reported by Caesars Sportsbook. The sports wagering division informed the company they were offering prohibited bets.

The MGC decided on an adjudicatory hearing without sending the incident back to the IEB for further investigation.