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Fanatics Sportsbook has agreed to pay a $20,000 fine in Colorado for contacting an individual on the self-exclusion list. The sportsbook agreed to pay the fine following an agreement with the Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission. Moreover, the sportsbook agreed to audit its self-exclusion list to determine whether other Colorado gamblers on the list have been contacted over a span of the past two years.
A breach of regulations
The self-exclusion list is a database of players who wish to restrict all access to sports betting platforms and establishments. It is one of the tools designed to address gambling addiction, which has been on the rise since the legalization of sports betting.
Notably, Colorado law prohibits sportsbooks from sending promotional content to individuals on the self-exclusion list. However, a VIP host at Fanatics contacted an individual on the state’s list twice – once on February 1 and again on February 17 – after the person joined the list on January 15.
The $20,000 fine was levied on 27th August after an agreement with the state’s regulators. In addition to the fine, Fanatics also agreed to two other remedies to avoid a repeat of the mistake.
First, it will audit its database against a list of 1,200 individuals in the state’s self-exclusion list to verify if any of them received promotional messages between January 1, 2024 and March 1, 2026. Second, the company will undertake a comprehensive retraining of all staff members to articulate the mandatory self-exclusion enforcement rules. Interestingly, Fanatics distributed initial training materials immediately after the first complaint was filed in February.
Inviting greater scrutiny of VIP programs
Notably, this is not the first instance of sportsbooks contacting or sending promotional content to individuals on self-exclusion lists. FanDuel made headlines when a VIP host sent an individual on the self-exclusion list a video featuring Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper wishing them an extra-special Thanksgiving. The player in question suffered from gambling addiction and had lost more than $1.5 million on FanDuel before entering the self-exclusion list.
The case caught the attention of three lawmakers, including Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and U.S. Reps Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Valerie Foushee (D-NC). As a result, the three lawmakers called for a thorough scrutiny of sportsbooks’ VIP programs, demanding that FanDuel end its program. Notably, this could have negative consequences for other operators besides FanDuel, especially with operators like Fanatics repeating the same mistake.
