PointsBet is now under the control of Fanatics Betting and Gaming but, as first reported by the Associated Press, the company incurred $25,000 in fines from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) for a series of prohibited wagers in 2021 and 2022 prior to the acquisition.
One such wager was on the 2021 League of Legends World Championships. While esports betting is allowed in New Jersey, but not if participants in the event are minors, which was the case here.
In 2022, the sportsbook also allowed a prohibited wager on St Peter’s University’s basketball team. As a school located within the state, it is prohibited for NJ bettors to place wagers on them.
Finally, PointsBet allowed several wagers on English Championship League soccer matches where the “outcome of the event was already known”.
As the AP reported, documents from the DGE attributed the past posting errors to human error, noting that PointsBet said the volume of betting markets renders it mostly impossible to double check the veracity and starting times of every market:
“PointsBet stated that the ‘overwhelming’ number of matches offered through PointsBet made it ‘unrealistic’ to check and verify each event and the market offered for wagering,” the division wrote in a document outlining the charges against the company.”
The DGE and PointsBet agreed to a $25,000 fine related to the three instances.
