The New Jersey Department of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) has ordered bet365 to pay more than half a million dollars to state players after discovering that the betting operator made odds changes over a two-year period without notifying the DGE.
The DGE ordered bet365 to pay $519,323.32 on 199 winning bets placed by New Jersey sports betting customers at the originally advertised odds, rather than the adjusted odds.
The order, dated July 22, 2024, states that a routine audit found that bet365 adjusted the odds on “a significant number of bets” on 13 sporting events between December 2020 and November 2022 without the request or approval of the DGE. New Jersey law requires operators to notify the regulator before voiding bets.
The affected events included 21 bets (13 wins) from 18 customers on the New England Patriots vs. New York Jets game in December 2020, and 63 bets (59 wins) from 18 players on the NCAA matchup between Brigham Young University and the University of Oregon in November 2021. Several other NFL and college games were also affected, as well as events such as the Masters golf tournament and MMA fights.
The most recent incident occurred in November 2022, when bet365 refused to pay out winnings on a bet on the Tennessee Titans vs. Green Bay Packers, claiming the odds had been published with an “obvious error.”
DGE described this as “long-term and unacceptable behavior.” The bookmaker claims its internal rules allow it to change odds if they have been published in error, whether due to a human or technical glitch.
A prolonged and unacceptable course of conduct
The regulator noted that bet365 claims that its internal rules allow it to adjust odds if they were published in error due to a human or technical failure.
According to the DGE, bet365 has not confirmed that its internal rules include a requirement to clear all odds changes with the regulator. After accepting bets on the erroneous odds, the DGE claims that bet365 was required to notify the regulator and seek permission to adjust or void the bets.
In a ruling signed by DGE interim director Mary Jo Flaherty and deputy director Louis S. Rogacki, the DGE said the violations “evidence a prolonged and unacceptable course of conduct.”
Flaherty added that the failures made it difficult for bet365 to operate its online gaming operations and undermined the integrity and reliability of its operating systems, leading to misinformation about bets and erroneous payouts for many customers.
The DGE has demanded that bet365 pay the total amount within 10 days of the July 22 date listed in the letter.
DraftKings has also faced disciplinary action from the DGE.
bet365 is not the only company that the New Jersey DGE has recently investigated. A month ago, the regulator fined DraftKings $100,000 for reporting inaccurate sports betting data, which the regulator said represented “gross errors and deficiencies.”
The reporting errors resulted from overstating the amount wagered on parlays and understating other categories of bets. As a result of these errors, casino partner DraftKings Resorts filed incorrect sports betting tax returns for the period from December 2023 to February 2024.
Flaherty noted that the incident “has a negative impact on the reputation of New Jersey and the gaming industry.”
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