Over the course of this calendar year, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission has made two things clear about its interest in the topic of sportsbooks and their alleged bet limits:

• The commission does not intend to rush to draw any conclusions;
• The commission will not stop in its efforts.

The latest evidence of both points came yesterday (21 November). A commission hearing on the issue led to a decision to have the Massachusetts Sports Wagering, Legal, and Communications Divisions send out a request for specific data to the state’s approved sports betting operators. The idea is to see how pervasive these limitations might be.

Data will allow review and analysis

The commission initially planned a discussion on bet limits in May. At that time, only once licensed operator appeared at the meeting. That set the stage for a September hearing that did include the operators. During that hearing, representatives claimed only a tiny percentage of gamblers were limited.

“A review and analysis of the data would presumably show us the volume of patrons being limited and whether, and to what extent, a correlation exists between, one, a patron whose limits have been decreased and who exhibits winning behavior, and, two, a patron whose limits have been increased and who exhibits losing behavior,” Carrie Torrisi, the agency’s sports wagering division chief said Thursday morning.

Social media’s gambling niche is filled with complaints by professional and amateur bettors alike describing draconian limits they have faced. But the issue mostly has been overlooked by regulators in the 38 live sports betting states.

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