Gaming
Massachusetts Just Made AI in Sports Betting Answer Questions, and Every State Will Watch the Answers
The first real AI rulebook for sports betting is being written in Boston, and it started with a metric called elasticity. On September 24, Massachusetts Gaming Commission Chairman Jordan Maynard ordered his staff to evaluate how the state's licensed sportsbooks use artificial intelligence and machine learning, following a New York Times investigation into DraftKings.
The Times report, built on interviews with some 40 former DraftKings employees plus internal research memos, Slack messages, and customer betting records, described a machine learning model the company built in 2023. The model scored users on "elasticity," an estimate of how much more a bettor would wager when offered the right promotion. One former employee, Jayden Butts, told the paper his job distilled to a single question. "Is this person going to give us more than we're giving them?" DraftKings told the Times it rejects any implication that its marketing unfairly targets customers, saying promotions go to engaged customers based on sustained platform activity, and it called the elasticity test preliminary and inconclusive.
Maynard's response was measured and broad. Executive Director Dean Serpa will engage DraftKings on the specifics, and staff will examine how every licensed operator in the state uses these technologies today. "Any further action or policy making can then be determined by the Commission when or if appropriate," Maynard said. Massachusetts is unusually prepared for this moment. Its rules already reference AI, it commissioned a first of its kind study on AI in gaming from the University of Nevada Las Vegas International Gaming Institute, and it formed the AI task force that study recommended to monitor the technology.
The stakes are concrete. DraftKings, headquartered in Boston, took $275.1 million of the $566.4 million staked with the state's seven online sportsbooks in August, according to commission figures. The state already requires that player data stay out of AI systems expected to make betting more addictive, and operators must report at least twice a year on how they analyze customer behavior for responsible gambling. What Massachusetts learns now becomes the template every other state reaches for next.
Commissioner Paul Brodeur credited Massachusetts with being one of the only states whose rules mention AI at all. That head start matters. The UNLV study the commission funded, released last November, already flagged a governance gap between how fast betting technology moves and how fast rules catch up, and the AI task force born from it now has its first live assignment.
For anyone who places a bet, this is the beginning of real transparency. Promotions chosen by disclosed rules, oversight with teeth, and a regulator asking the questions players deserve answered. For the industry, the message is clear. AI sharpens every tool it touches, and the states are sharpening their own right back.
Quick answers
What is this story about?
The first real AI rulebook for sports betting is being written in Boston, and it started with a metric called elasticity. On September 24, Massachusetts Gaming Commission Chairman Jordan Maynard ordered his staff to evaluate how the state's licensed sportsbooks use artificial intelligence and machine learning, following a New York Times investigation into DraftKings.
Why does this story matter?
For anyone who places a bet, this is the beginning of real transparency. Promotions chosen by disclosed rules, oversight with teeth, and a regulator asking the questions players deserve answered. For the industry, the message is clear. AI sharpens every tool it touches, and the states are sharpening their own right back.
Sources
- CDC Gaming: Massachusetts regulators to evaluate AI use in sports betting
- FairGambling: Massachusetts regulators review DraftKings use of AI
- iGaming Times: Massachusetts to review how sportsbooks use AI
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