The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE) has fined bet365 $33,000 for accepting wagers on events that had already happened, as well as games that weren't approved for betting.
According to a report from the Associated Press, state regulators revealed Wednesday that the British sports betting operator accepted wagers on a mixed martial arts match that had taken place a week earlier and was being broadcast on tape. Additionally, pre-match odds were available two weeks later on a Honda Gold Classic event and lasted four hours after the event started.
bet365 did not respond to messages seeking comment late last week.
Not the first time
Earlier this summer, the NJDGE ordered bet365 to refund over $519,000 to 199 customers after it was found that the company had revised odds on already concluded bets. The head of the NJDGE pointed out that any company wanting to void or modify a payout must first obtain approval from the agency, which bet365 failed to do. The company told regulators they had changed the odds due to “obvious error.”
In April, the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC) fined bet365 subsidiary Hillside £582,120 ($762,037) for social responsibility failures. The UKGC said bet365 did not undertake adequate checks on new customers and failed to meet certain Know Your Customer (KYC) conditions.
bet365 has also been found to have accepted wagers on the Rutgers University football team, violating a state law prohibiting betting on New Jersey's college teams. The operator also took bets on European-friendly soccer matches, which were not approved by the NJDGE.
The company has offered several explanations for the mistakes, including problems with software and human error, and has also informed regulators that it has retrained workers.
The NJDGE
New Jersey is home to various gambling options, including New Jersey sports betting, land-based casinos, online casinos, horse racing, the lottery, and more.
Established in 1977 under the Casino Control Act, the NJDGE is responsible for overseeing all gambling operations in the state, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards. Mary Jo Flaherty currently serves as DGE interim director after the longest-serving head, David Rebuck, stepped down earlier this year.
The division has been busy recently. Last month, it fined Borgata $75,000 for underpaying its taxes for the second time in 18 months. In July, the regulator imposed a $100,000 fine on DraftKings for providing the state with inaccurate sports betting data.
“These types of gross errors and failures cannot be tolerated in the New Jersey gaming regulatory system,” Flaherty wrote in a letter to DraftKings.
