New Jersey fines sports betting firms for illegal wagering on finished games
- William Hill Sportsbook accepted bets on several college basketball and boxing matches after they had already concluded, resulting in fines from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.
- The sportsbook voided the majority of these bets and refunded customers after recognizing the mistakes.
- This incident highlights serious regulatory issues in the sports betting industry and the need for tighter oversight.
In Atlantic City, New Jersey, William Hill Sportsbook faced significant penalties due to illegal betting practices following college basketball, hockey games, and boxing matches that had concluded. The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement announced last week that the sportsbook had wrongly accepted bets worth $25,000 on these events during 2022 and 2023. This action not only jeopardized the integrity of the betting process but also revealed a lapse in control regarding the sportsbook's operational measures. The infractions included taking 42 bets on 12 college basketball games on February 23 and 24, 2022, after the outcomes were known. William Hill had already paid out over $5,000 to customers on six of these bets before recognizing the error, prompting the company to void the remaining bets and return the initial wagers to the customers. William Hill attributed this mishap to issues with a content supplier, London-based OpenBet. In addition to college sports, the enforcement division detected similar lapses involving boxing matches. In June 2022 and April 2023, William Hill mistakenly took bets on matches that had already taken place, advertising them as commencing at future times but offering wagers after they had concluded. These errors raise concerns not only about the sportsbook's practices but also about the oversight measures that the regulatory body must enforce. Furthermore, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement did not limit its scrutiny to William Hill. The division also imposed a $10,000 fine on Amelco, a London-based sports betting technology company. This penalty was in response to allowing the associated sportsbook PlayUp to accept a bet in March 2022 regarding whether Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg would become the next U.S. president. This incident occurred before recent legal changes made political betting permissible, illustrating the ongoing adjustments in the fast-evolving landscape of sports wagering regulations. Despite the fines and voicemails left by media outlets, comments from the involved companies remain absent, prompting further discussion about the accountability within the industry.