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Bill Simmons is one of the biggest names in all of sports media. The blogger turned ESPN talent turned documentary filmmaker (he co-created ESPN 30 for 30 and other docs) turned podcaster turned entrepreneur (he sold The Ringer to Spotify for hundreds of millions) has ruled over the industry for almost 30 years now.
That’s what makes him such a commodity to sports betting apps — he’s the perfect conduit to advertise their products to sports fans and bettors. That’s why FanDuel pays him hundreds of millions of dollars to advertise on his podcast and other media outlets.
Welp, that trust in Simmons just backfired in the most spectacular way possible: he outed himself for doing something illegal betting-wise on his own podcast. That’s right, now he’s being investigated by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. You’ve got to keep reading to hear the full, insanely-dumb way Simmons landed in this mess!
Simmons Narc’d On Himself
Simmons is a long-time resident of Los Angeles — despite rising to fame as the “Boston Sports Guy.” California is likely great for a wealthy guy like Simmons minus one thing: sports betting in California is barred.
Welp, on a recent podcast with Cousins Sal — another famous betting personality — Simmons admitted to using his daughter’s boyfriend to place wagers for him in Massachusetts. Here’s exactly what Simmons said on his show:
“There was a couple bets I really wanted to get in… I can’t have my daughter do it. My dad would have no idea how to do it. But [my daughter’s boyfriend] Hank, I really trust Hank. I let Hank log into my FanDuel as me. 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, and honestly, it was the closest I’ve ever felt to Hank. It’s a real bonding moment for us.”
Yep, in the most Bill Simmons way possible, he admitted to committing a small crime. This somehow got posted without a producer or Cousin Sal or anyone in Bill’s orbit stopping it. And that’s when Massachusetts regulators caught on, as we explain next.
The Illegal Intricacies of Proxy Betting
What Bill did is called proxy betting. As you guessed, it involves other people making bets for you — maybe cause your out of state, maybe cause you’re underage, but almost always because there’s some restriction stopping you from doing it yourself.
This is illegal across legal betting states, but also within apps, including FanDuel. Here’s what they said in a statement after being pressed about it:
“We became aware of the issue and handled it consistent with our Terms and Conditions and Massachusetts Gaming Commission regulations, including reporting the matter to the MGC, voiding the bets, and actioning the account.”
MGC said similar things after the fiasco:
“The Commission is aware of the comments made on The Bill Simmons Podcast and staff are currently reviewing the matter.”
To his credit, Bill acknowledged the incident pretty quickly. Here’s what he said on the podcast right after:
“Did not know about the proxy rules. Yeah, there’s some real rules with this stuff… and I learned my lesson. Proxy betting: not allowed. I actually thought it was, but that’s fine… but I did learn. Not allowed to do that.”
Will Anything Happen To Simmons?
Now let’s get to the good stuff: what happens to Simmons here? Does FanDuel back out of their lucrative sponsorship? Does he get a massive fine from Massachusetts? Or will it just be a slap on the wrist?
We’re betting on the last option. Look, FanDuel already voided the bets and said it took “action” against Simmons’ account, although it hasn’t actually explained what that means. Under both Massachusetts regulations and FanDuel’s terms, a sportsbook can suspend or close an account for violations like this.
Massachusetts could theoretically go a tad further. State law allows the MGC to impose civil penalties of up to $2,000 per violation or $5,000 for violations stemming from the same series of events. But legal experts who have weighed in so far don’t expect Simmons to get punished hard. Richard McGowan, a Boston College professor who studies gambling, told Business Insider he’d be “really surprised” if Simmons received anything more than a short FanDuel suspension, if that.
Hank (the daughter’s boyfriend) might actually have his own problem, though. Massachusetts regulations classify someone placing bets as a proxy for another person as a prohibited bettor, meaning Simmons’ daughter’s boyfriend could face restrictions of his own.
But the funniest consequence here might have nothing to do with a fine. As we said, FanDuel is a major sponsor of The Ringer, Simmons routinely promotes the sportsbook to millions of listeners, and now FanDuel had to report one of its most recognizable partners to gaming regulators because he explained his own proxy-betting scheme on air.
That’s an incredible self-own… but that’s probably all it’ll end up being. The reality is Simmons has way too big of an audience for FanDuel to move on from. But boy, it sure is funny to laugh at, ain’t it?
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