Bill Simmons underneath evaluate by Massachusetts Gaming Commission

Sports News

“We’re conscious of it, and we’ll take no matter actions we’ve got to take.”

By Conor Ryan

September 2, 2026 | 4:25 PM

3 minutes to learn

Longtime Boston sports activities scribe and The Ringer founder Bill Simmons is underneath evaluate by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission after the favored podcaster admitted earlier this week that he had his daughter’s boyfriend place bets for him in Massachusetts.

“We are aware of that activity, it is sitting with the proper staff members in this building,” Mass. Gaming Commission chair Jordan Maynard told The Boston Globe’s Michael Silverman on Tuesday. “I am very careful — as chair of the commission, I have the power to hold hearings and so I don’t ever want to prejudge a matter that hasn’t come before me.

“I’m not trying to be cagey. It’s here at the commission. We’re aware of it, and we’ll take whatever actions we have to take.”

During a latest episode of his podcast, Simmons acknowledged that he requested his daughter’s boyfriend to log into his FanDuel account for him in Massachusetts to position a wager on his behalf.

While sports activities betting is authorized in Massachusetts, it isn’t in California — the place Simmons resides.

“There was a couple bets I really wanted to get in. I wanted—there was UCLA overs, but Houston, the market had not shifted appropriately yet,” Simmons said on his podcast. “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.”

Proxy betting — the place somebody has anyone else place bets for you in your account — is barred by each Massachusetts and FanDuel, which is an unique betting sponsor with The Ringer.

Along with the MGC’s assertion, Silverman spoke to a FanDuel spokesperson concerning the fallout of Simmons’ admission.

“A FanDuel spokesperson said that in addition to voiding the bets, it also responded by ‘actioning the account,’ a phrase that could mean that Simmons’s FanDuel account has been suspended or faces suspension,” Silverman wrote, including:  “Asked to clarify what ‘actioning’ could entail, the spokesperson said it is FanDuel’s policy not to comment on individual actions.” ​

Simmons addressed the controversy on the newest episode of “The Bill Simmons Podcast” on Tuesday.

“I talked about how I got my daughter’s boyfriend to place some bets for me in Massachusetts because I was in LA. Did not know about the proxy rules,” Simmons famous. “Yeah, there are some real rules with this stuff and they’ve ruled that not only are the bets going to be voided — and I learned my lesson, apparently proxy betting [is] not allowed, I actually thought it was, but that’s fine — and now my daughter has to break up with her boyfriend; that was the other thing.

​“No, I’m kidding, they’re going to stay together. But yeah, I did learn, not allowed to do that. So, all those bets went out the window, all that special time I had with Hank out the window, as well. The good news is I’m going to be in Boston and maybe at some point I’ll make some more wagers down the road. There you go. Lesson learned.”

Bill Simmons addresses ProxyGate:
“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.” pic.twitter.com/S4nBgxJCDk

— Ben Axelrod (@BenAxelrod) September 2, 2026