The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) is mandating that Bet365 pay out $519,323.32 for 199 winning wagers on which the company adjusted odds without the agency's approval. The changes in odds were made on 12 different dates between 25 December 2020 and 18 November 2022.
All states do not require operators to get approval before shifting odds. Also unusual is that Bet365 must pay the bettors rather than a fine to the DGE. In many cases in New Jersey and other states, when a sportsbook violates the rules, fines are imposed.
Bet365 is among the top five operators in terms of gaming revenue in New Jersey.
The DGE gave Bet365 10 days to reimburse bettors from the time the letter went out.
Division approval needed, DGE reiterates
According to a 22 July letter, Bet365 altered the odds on the events after they were posted.
In the letter, the DGE writes that Bet365 believed it could “unilaterally revise the odds that had already been offered on wagers for these events because they were posted in an ‘obvious error’.” The DGE disagreed.
“Bet365 failed, in all instances, to recognise that although Bet365’s house rules were approved by the division, it was with an express statement and caveat that Bet365 was prohibited from voiding any wager without prior division approval.”
Tech troubles the root cause
The DGE pointed to technology issues as the root cause of the issue. It also noted concern that such issues compromise Bet365’s integrity.
“The failure of Bet365’s internal software coupled with its manual trading errors caused its system to be unable to ensure the accuracy of its data feeds,” interim director Mary Jo Flaherty wrote.
“These failures are both problematic as to Bet365’s 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.”
The DGE gave Bet365 20 days from the letter date to provide it with a plan to rectify the issues. Flaherty wrote that “no further such violations related to the unilateral voiding of wagers will be tolerated”.
