Online sportsbook operator bet365 was charged with violating the Garden State’s regulatory gaming rules. The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement sent a letter on July 22 to bet365, ordering the operator to pay back 199 voided bets worth $519,323.
The NJDGE said in the letter that bet365 didn’t seek or obtain regulatory permission to “unilaterally” void wagers that had already been paid out because of odds errors in 13 sporting events from Dec. 2020 through Nov. 2022.
The operator argued that it was permitted to do so since voiding bets because of incorrect pricing due to human or technical error is stated in the bet365 house rules. However, New Jersey requires sportsbooks to seek regulatory approval first.
“Once bet365 accepted the wagers, even using odds it considered to be ‘incorrect,’ its only recourse was to seek Division permission to alter or void the wagers,” NJDGE interim director Mary Jo Flaherty wrote in the letter.
‘Unacceptable’ violation
The online sportsbook was given 10 days from the date of the letter to comply with the revised payouts.
bet365 is also required to submit a full report within 20 days to "identify and rectify the failures of its internal software systems” as well as corrections to ensure accurate data feeds moving forward.
The regulator called the issue “problematic” and “unacceptable” as it led to misleading betting information that questioned the integrity of gaming for customers.
“These types of multiple and serious violations cannot be tolerated in the New Jersey gaming regulatory system,” Flaherty wrote. “They impact adversely upon bet365’s business abilities and casino experience and evident impermissible conduct in dealing with regulations, with significant adverse impact on patrons.”
The NJDE said no further punishment is expected, but the NJDGE warned that another violation by bet365 could bring harsher penalties.
Wagering affected
A routine audit conducted in April 2022 uncovered the violations that began with a tennis match affecting one bettor on Christmas Day, 2020.
Less than a week later, bet365 changed 13 winning wagers made by nine bettors because of wrong pricing on an NFL game between the New York Jets and New England Patriots.
Seven college basketball events during the 2021-2022 season totaled 159 of the reversed payouts while six MMA wagers were altered in May 2021.
One bettor had eight winning wagers taken away from the 2022 Masters golf tournament while an NCAA baseball game cost three bettors nine winning tickets in June 2022.
The final affected contest was an NFL game between the Tennessee Titans and Green Bay Packers in Nov. 2022, when bet365 refused to pay out one wager because of an obvious odds error without regulatory permission.
