The New Jersey Department of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) has ordered bet365 to pay out more than half a million dollars to in-state bettors after finding the sportsbook had been changing odds offered on events over the span of two years without telling the DGE.
The DGE directed bet365 to pay $519,323.32 relating to 199 winning wagers that were placed by New Jersey sports betting customers at their originally posted odds rather than the corrected odds.
A ruling dated July 22, 2024 explains that a routine audit uncovered the fact that bet365 had revised odds for “a significant number of bets” on 13 sporting events between December 2020 and November 2022 without seeking or receiving DGE approval. New Jersey gaming law stipulates that operators must notify the regulator before voiding a bet.
The events concerned included 21 wagers (13 wins) by 18 customers on a New England Patriots vs. New York Jets NFL game in December 2020 and 63 bets (59 wins) from 18 bettors on an NCAA basketball game between Brigham Young University and the University of Oregon in November 2021. Multiple other NFL and collegiate sports games were involved, as well as other events such as the Masters golf tournament and MMA fights.
The most recent incident was in November 2022, when bet365 didn’t pay out on a winning bet on a Tennessee Titans vs. Green Bay Packers NFL game as it said the odds had been posted in what should have been considered an “obvious error.”
‘A prolonged and unacceptable course of conduct’
The DGE said that bet365 claimed its house rules allow the sportsbook to amend its odds when incorrect prices have been posted due to human or technical error.
However, according to DGE, bet365 failed to recognize that its house rules are approved by the division with an express caveat that all odds changes be run past the DGE first. Once bet365 had accepted wagers on incorrect pricing, the DGE said it was obligated to inform the division and seek permission to alter or void the bets.
Ultimately, in the ruling addressed from DGE Interim Director Mary Jo Flaherty and signed by Deputy Director Louis S. Rogacki, the DGE said the violations “evidence a prolonged and unacceptable course of conduct.”
“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,” added Flaherty.
The DGE ordered bet365 to pay the total outstanding amount within 10 days of the July 22 date on the letter. SBC Americas reached out to bet365 for comment but has yet to receive a response.
DraftKings also disciplined by DGE
bet365 isn’t the only operator to run afoul of the New Jersey DGE in recent weeks.
A month ago, the division fined DraftKings $100,000 for reporting inaccurate sports betting data, which the regulator said amounted to “gross errors and failures.”
The reporting errors resulted from DraftKings overstating the amount of money that had been wagered on parlay bets as well as understating other categories of wagers. The mistakes caused DraftKings’ casino partner Resorts to file incorrect sports betting tax returns for three months from December 2023 to February 2024.
Flaherty said that incident, “reflects negatively upon the state of New Jersey and the gaming industry.”
