Sports betting operator Bet365 has been ordered to pay a hefty sum by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) over unapproved odds changes.
The regulator has mandated that Bet365 pay $519,323.32 to a total of 199 winning wagers due to company-adjusted odds which were changed without approval.
Rather than requesting the money be paid to themselves, the fine is to be paid to the bettors.
This incident was found through a routine audit conducted in April 2022 and it was then that it was determined the betting company had “unilaterally revised odds for a significant number of wagers over an extended period of time that it had accepted based on what it claimed were ‘incorrect odds’ during 13 sporting events, without Division approval.”
Other incidents were also highlighted in the DGE’s letter, with the top five operator in New Jersey having to reimburse bettors within 10 days from the time the letter went out.
In the letter, Bet365 claimed “that it had been permitted to unilaterally revise the odds that had already been offered on wagers for these events because they were posted in an ‘obvious error.’”
Along with the fine, the DGE has requested a full report of all efforts to identify and rectify the failures of the betting companies’ internal software systems and their manual trading errors.
“These types of multiple and serious violations cannot be tolerated in the New Jersey gaming regulatory system,” writes Mary Jo Flaherty, the interim director of the regulator.
“They impact adversely upon bet365’s business abilities and casino experience and evidence impermissible conduct in dealing with regulations, with significant adverse impact upon patrons.
“As set forth throughout this Action in Lieu of Complaint, the actions of bet365 by which it unilaterally voided wagers have been totally unacceptable. No further such violations related to the unilateral voiding of wagers will be tolerated.
“In the event of any further such violations by bet365, the Division will take action to impose penalties warranted by the nature and extent of that conduct, and such imposition will reflect fully the prior course of violative conduct detailed herein.”
Featured Image: Via Baishampayan Ghose on Wikimedia Commons
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