Bet365 Ordered To Pay Back Voided Bets By New Jersey Regulator
Bet365 Ordered To Pay Back Voided Bets By New Jersey Regulator
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The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE) has taken action against sports betting operator bet365 for violating the state’s regulatory gaming rules. The regulator has ordered the company to pay back $519,323 in voided bets.
According to the NJDGE, bet365 had unilaterally voided a total of 199 wagers between December 2020 and November 2022 without seeking or obtaining the necessary regulatory approval. These voided bets spanned across 13 different sporting events, including tennis matches, NFL games, college basketball tournaments, MMA fights, and even the prestigious Masters golf tournament.
The NJDGE deemed bet365’s actions as “problematic” and “unacceptable,” as they had led to misleading betting information that questioned the integrity of gaming for customers. The regulator’s interim director, Mary Jo Flaherty, stated that the operator’s conduct in dealing with regulations had a “significant adverse impact on patrons.”
bet365 argued that its house rules allowed it to void bets due to incorrect pricing caused by human or technical errors. However, the NJDGE firmly stated that once the operator had accepted the wagers, even with “incorrect” odds, its only recourse was to seek the division’s permission before making any alterations or voiding them.
The NJDGE has given bet365 just 10 days to comply with the revised payouts and submit a full report within 20 days. This report must identify and rectify the failures in the operator’s internal software systems, as well as implement corrective measures to ensure accurate data feeds moving forward.
While the NJDGE has indicated that no further punishment is expected at this time, the regulator has warned that any future violations by bet365 could result in harsher penalties. This crackdown sends a clear message to the industry that the integrity of gaming regulations in New Jersey will not be compromised.
The NJDGE’s investigation revealed that the voided wagers spanned a wide range of sporting events, with the majority (159 wagers) occurring during the 2021-2022 college basketball season. The remaining affected contests included an NFL game, several MMA fights, and the 2022 Masters golf tournament.
The NJDGE’s discovery of these violations was the result of a routine audit conducted in April 2022. The audit revealed that the issues had begun with a single tennis match affecting one bettor on Christmas Day, 2020, and had subsequently escalated to a broader pattern of unauthorized wager voiding.
