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Can I offer contests that involve entry fees in Massachusetts? What are the requirements?

Yes, you can offer contests that involve entry fees in Massachusetts, but you must comply with the regulations set forth in 940 CMR 34.12. The following are the requirements:

Requirements for Offering Contests with Entry Fees in Massachusetts

  1. No DFSO employee, DFSO principal, DFSO officer, DFSO director, or DFSO Contractor may play on any DFS Contest Platform of any DFSO. Nor may such person play through another person as a proxy. However, such individuals may play in a private contest on a DFS Contest Platform in which the individual’s relevant affiliation with a DFSO is fully disclosed to each player.
  2. DFSOs shall make these restrictions known to all affected individuals and corporate entities.
  3. No DFSO Promoter may enter any DFS contest on any DFS Contest Platform unless such DFSO Promoter has disclosed the following in connection with any public recommendation concerning DFS gameplay to other DFS players:

a. That the DFSO Promoter is also a DFS player;

b. The user name that the DFSO Promoter uses for gameplay on any DFS Contest Platform;

c. That the DFSO Promoter may play, in connection with a personal account, in the games on which recommendations are offered;

d. That the DFSO Promoter may engage in DFS gameplay, in connection with a personal account, using players or strategies different from the recommendations made by the DFSO Promoter; and

e. That the DFSO Promoter’s recommendations do not necessarily reflect the view of the DFSO. 4. No DFSO shall allow a professional or amateur athlete, or a sports agent, team employee, referee or a league official associated with any competition which is the subject of DFS contests, to enter DFS contests in the sport in which they participate. Nor may such athlete, sports agent, team official, team representative, referee or league official play through another person as a proxy. 5. All DFSOs shall develop games that are limited to Beginners and shall keep non-Beginner players from participating, either directly or through another person as a proxy, in those games. 6. All DFSOs shall develop games in which Highly-experienced Players cannot, either directly or through another person as a proxy, participate. 7. On-boarding procedures for new players shall explain opportunities to learn about contest play and how to identify Highly-experienced Players, and shall recommend beginner contests and low-cost private contests with friends for their value as a learning experience. 8. DFSOs shall not permit unauthorized Scripts to be used on DFS Contest Platforms and shall use commercially reasonable efforts to monitor for and to prevent use of such Scripts. 9. As of the time a DFS contest locks, no further entries or substitution of participants shall be accepted in connection with that contest. Nor shall participants be allowed to make further alterations or substitutions in connection with their entry or entries. 10. DFSOs shall not offer free or discounted entries to fill a contest in the three hour period prior to the earliest lock time for that contest, unless such free or discounted entries are made available pursuant to a plan that does not unreasonably disadvantage the players that have already entered that contest. 11. DFSOs shall promptly, accurately and regularly update the “fill rate” for any DFS contest it offers on each of its DFS Contest Platforms. 12. DFSOs shall not allow a DFS player to submit more than one entry in any DFS contest involving 12 entries or less. 13. DFSOs shall not allow a DFS player to submit more than two entries in any DFS contest involving 13 through 36 entries. 14. DFSOs shall not allow a DFS player to submit more than three entries in any DFS contest involving 37 through 100 entries. 15. In any contest involving more than 100 entries, DFSOs shall not allow a DFS player to submit more than the lesser of:

a. 3% of all entries; or

b. 150 entries. 16. For all advertised DFS contests, the DFSO shall prominently include information about the maximum number of entries that may be submitted for that contest.

DFS operators must comply with these regulations to offer contests with entry fees in Massachusetts. Additionally, there are application fees and investigation costs associated with obtaining a sports wagering operator license or gaming license in Massachusetts [2.1][3.1][3.2][2.2].

Source(s):
Jurisdiction

Massachusetts