PlayUp is withdrawing its bid in Ohio to run online sports betting sites after agreeing to a deal with regulators that follows allegations of illegal gambling activity in the Buckeye State.
The Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) met Wednesday and approved a settlement agreement with PlayUp that includes the bookmaker pulling its application for a mobile wagering license and agreeing not to seek any other gaming-related permit in the state for four years.
PlayUp’s settlement agreement also includes a $90,000 fine and approximately $30,000 in restitution the company will pay to Ohio players who lost money gambling illegally on its platform.
No hearing needed
The casino control commission told PlayUp in December that it planned to deny the bookmaker’s application for an Ohio sports betting license because it was not eligible or suitable. The reasons for this, the OCCC said, included "accepting illegal wagers" from bettors in the U.S. after April 16, 2015, "specifically any wagers PlayUp accepted through the slots+ product" from anyone in Ohio after that date.
Another violation the regulator alleged was "conducting, participating in the conduct, or facilitating the conduct of the slots+ product" in Ohio by or through affiliates or those in control of PlayUp. The last allegation was "engaging in false, deceptive, misleading, or otherwise impermissible advertising" by advertising the slots+ product as legal in Ohio.
Under Ohio law, PlayUp was entitled to a hearing in the matter, which was eventually dropped in favor of the settlement. The commission heard that if it had gone through with the hearing process and denied PlayUp’s application, the Australia-based company would have to wait three years before applying again.
The Ohio Casino Control Commission plans to consider a settlement with @PlayUp_US at its meeting this week. OCCC said in December it would deny PlayUp’s online sports betting license application over alleged illegal gambling activity, among other things:https://t.co/55uGYPkdcM pic.twitter.com/Iux7eWMJ2z
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) April 18, 2023
Wednesday’s decision by the OCCC is another sign that Ohio regulators are not shying away from conflict in connection with legal sports betting. The commission has already handed down several fines for operators, setting an example other states are beginning to follow.
Ohio already has more than 15 other online sportsbooks taking bets. Those operators have handled more than $1.7 billion in wagering since the start of legal sports betting in the state on January 1.
PlayUp, meanwhile, said that the “pari-mutuel slots+ product” was run in conjunction with a third party under a North Dakota pari-mutuel wagering license held by another company and following advice that the business was operating legally.
Even so, the operator, which offers online sports betting in New Jersey and Colorado, said it shut down slots+. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday before this story was published.
“PlayUp has taken the OCCC request with utmost seriousness,” a spokesperson told Covers in December. “We are committed to full compliance with all Ohio laws and have suspended the product indefinitely.”
