Bet365 is in trouble yet again with the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.
This time around, the company took bets on known outcomes, including MMA events that had already concluded.
The penalty from the DGE was only $33,000, but this is the second time in a month that the company has been penalized, making one wonder if future penalties are in its future.
Key Highlights
- Bet365 fined $33,000 for taking bets on known outcomes.
- Sportsbook took bets on games after they started and on MMA matches that had concluded.
- Second fine for English sportsbook in a month.
Bet365 Took Bets on Known Outcomes
The company had numerous incidents of taking bets on known outcomes from February 2022 to January 2023.
– NJ Attorney General’s Office
Bet365 faces yet another penalty from the NJ DGE, this time for taking bets on known outcomes.
According to the Associated Press, the NJ regulator has levied a $33,000 fine against the online sportsbook for taking bets on known outcomes.
SBC Americas acquired additional information from the NJ Attorney General’s office. According to the documents, the company had numerous incidents of taking bets on known outcomes from February 2022 to January 2023.
The first instance was in February 2022, when pre-match odds for a game between Arkansas-Little Rock and Louisiana-Lafayette were still available after the game had started.
Two weeks later, the same thing happened for the Honda Golf Classic, as pre-game odds were available for four hours after the match had started.
Additionally, the DGE found two instances where Bet365 took bets on a pair of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fights after they had ended.
Other violations were also noted, such as taking bets on non-competitive European soccer matches that are not authorized by regulators.
In one case, bets were taken for a Rutgers University game despite a ban on in-state collegiate bets.
Company’s Immediate Actions to Resolve Issues Result in Reduced Penalty
The sportsbook took remedial action to fix the errors, leading to the DGE settling the matter for just a $33,000 penalty.
The good news is that Bet365 swiftly resolved the errors made.
The majority of bets were forfeited, and money was returned to bettors. However, the sportsbook took remedial action to fix the errors, leading to the DGE settling the matter for just a $33,000 penalty.
This penalty was significantly less than one levied against it in August.
In that settlement, the DGE found that Bet365 “unilaterally revised odds for a significant number of wagers over an extended period of time that it has accepted based on what it claimed were “incorrect odds” during 13 sporting events, without Division approval.”
The company was forced to pay $519,323.32 over 199 winning wagers. Those payouts were based on the original odds given by the company.
Will These Types of Fines Continue for Bet365?
These failures are both problematic as to Bet365’s business ability to conduct online gaming and the integrity and reliability of its operational systems and, therefore, unacceptable as they resulted in misleading wagering information that was relied upon by its patrons and ultimately lead to incorrect payouts for numerous patrons.
– DGE (Division of Gaming Enforcement)
With Bet365 having paid multiple fines in a short period, one has to wonder if this is going to be a continuing issue with the English sportsbook.
In the August action, the DGE ruled that the violations “evidence a prolonged and unacceptable course of conduct.”
They also stated, “These failures are both problematic as to Bet365’s business ability to conduct online gaming and the integrity and reliability of its operational systems and, therefore, unacceptable as they resulted in misleading wagering information that was relied upon by its patrons and ultimately lead to incorrect payouts for numerous patrons.”
Bet365 is definitely being a bit more scrutinized by the DGE following multiple violations.
While the company is said to have taken remedial actions for past violations, are the additional violations looming in future audits?
If so, this could lead to additional penalties and could force an overhaul of how the company does business in New Jersey.
However, these incidents show that regulators remain diligent in protecting players.
While some of these incidents occurred over a prolonged period, they were ultimately discovered and corrected.
Sources
https://apnews.com/article/sports-betting-bet365-fined-new-jersey-765917e8bc62fc9e76e9a885d60e4c7f
https://sbcamericas.com/2024/09/09/new-jersey-fines-bet365/
https://sbcamericas.com/2024/08/05/new-jersey-bet365-payout/
