Sportscaster Bill Simmons is reportedly under investigation by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission for placing bets through his daughter’s boyfriend.
Simmons, a sports podcaster who founded the popular sports website The Ringer, admitted on a recent podcast that he had his daughter’s boyfriend in Massachusetts log into his account and place bets. It is an act called “proxy betting,” and is something specifically outlawed in the Bay State. To place bets online in Massachusetts, the bettor must be located in the state while placing the bet, NBC News reports.
The sportscaster told his podcast audience that he was in California when he wanted to place some bets, so he called his boyfriend and gave him all his login information so he could place the wagers.
“I get the code to make sure it’s me to my phone, I give him the code, he logs in. And I have all this money that I had from last year because I actually hit a bunch of futures last year. And he’s putting in bets for me,” Simmons said, adding that “it was a real bonding moment for us.”
The young man used Simmons’ FanDuel account to place the bets. FanDuel is also a partner with The Ringer.
Simmons went on to admit that he had the young man place proxy bets on several occasions.
On this week’s podcast, Simmons addressed the issue again and claimed he was unaware that what he was doing was illegal.
“I talked about how I got my daughter’s boyfriend to place some bets for me in Massachusetts because I was in L.A. [I] did not know about the proxy rules,” he explained. “Yeah, there are some real rules with this stuff, and they’ve ruled that not only are the bets going to be voided — and I learned my lesson.”
The sportsman’s actions, though, are now under official review in Massachusetts.
“The Commission is aware of the comments made on the Bill Simmons Podcast, and staff is currently reviewing the matter,” the Massachusetts Gaming Commission said in a statement.
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