Sports media character Bill Simmons might be in some scorching water. “The Ringer” founder admitted to permitting his daughter’s boyfriend to make proxy sports activities wagers for him.
On his podcast, Simmons detailed how he made futures wagers lately on the Houston Texans and UCLA whereas in California. He stated his daughter’s boyfriend was in Massachusetts on the time and used Simmons’ FanDuel account to put the bets.
“I let Hank log into my FanDuel as me,” Simmons stated. “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.”
Massachusetts Strictly Regulates Sports Betting
Simmons stated extra proxy wagering occurred every week later. The bets violate FanDuel’s phrases of service and Massachusetts gaming laws.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) has been significantly strict in imposing gaming legal guidelines within the state. It has additionally enacted new laws to limit sure actions. That consists of requiring sportsbooks to inform gamblers and supply a cause when their motion is proscribed.
The MGC dominated final 12 months that DraftKings couldn’t void a wager due to an error. The fee has fought towards prediction markets, as properly.
Additionally, the state has strict guidelines on sports activities betting promoting. The MGC fined Penn Sports Interactive $25,000 in 2025 for non-compliance over a promotional marketing campaign.
‘Ringer’ Deal in Jeopardy?
Simmons’ alleged proxy betting could also jeopardize “The Ringer’s” multi-million greenback promoting and content material take care of FanDuel. That partnership has been in place since 2021. The deal makes FanDuel the unique sportsbook and fantasy companion throughout the entire firm’s media choices.
FanDuel particularly prohibits customers from permitting others to make use of their accounts: “Your account is solely for your personal use. Customers are prohibited from wagering on behalf of a third party and/or allowing other individuals to access their account.”
The incident might additional amplify requires extra stringent log-in procedures within the trade, together with using biometric knowledge. In April, New York regulators introduced a plan to carry that know-how to the state’s sports activities betting trade. The intention is to curb downside playing and forestall minors from wagering.
Proxy betting is much like ghosting in on-line poker. Ghosting entails enjoying on one other particular person’s account. This approach is seen as unethical and towards most platforms’ phrases of service.
In 2025, World Series of Poker proprietor and GGPoker mother or father firm NSUS Group moved to root out on-line gamers engaged in unethical conduct, reminiscent of ghosting. That included banning gamers from enjoying in reside occasions.
