Atlantic City Sportsbook Errors Lead to Fines

Sports betting mishaps in Atlantic City have reignited concerns about regulatory compliance and the reliability of sportsbooks. William Hill Sportsbook recently faced a $20,000 fine from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement for accepting $25,000 worth of bets on games and matches that had already concluded. The violations spanned 2022 and 2023 and included college basketball, hockey games, and boxing matches. While most of these bets were voided after the error was discovered, some had already been paid out to customers, highlighting gaps in oversight.

William Hill operates retail sportsbooks at Caesars, Harrah's, and Tropicana casinos in Atlantic City. The company attributed the errors to OpenBet, its London-based sportsbook content supplier. The incidents included 42 bets placed on 12 college basketball games on February 23 and 24, 2022. The results of these games were already known when the bets were accepted. Out of these, six bets, totaling just over $5,000, were paid out to customers before the issue came to light. The rest were voided, and bettors were refunded their initial wagers. William Hill pointed to a scheduling mistake by OpenBet as the source of the problem, though OpenBet did not comment on the situation.

Another instance of regulatory breach occurred in boxing matches. On June 11, 2022, William Hill advertised the start time of the Chris Kongo-Sebastian Formella fight as noon, but the match concluded earlier, by 11:55 a.m. In another case on April 15, 2023, the sportsbook listed the Denzel Bentley-Kieran Smith fight as starting at noon, even though the bout began and ended in under a minute, with a knockout occurring at 11:55 a.m. Both incidents demonstrate the challenges of ensuring accurate event timing across international operations.

In a separate but equally concerning violation, Amelco, another London-based sports betting technology firm, was fined $10,000 for enabling sportsbook PlayUp to offer unauthorized bets. One such bet, placed in March 2022, involved wagering on Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to become the next U.S. president. While political betting has since been legalized in some contexts, it was prohibited at the time the wager was made. Amelco attributed the issue to its data provider, Sportradar, which categorized the U.S. presidential election as a valid betting event. Sportradar, in turn, stated that ensuring compliance with local laws was the sole responsibility of the sportsbook.

PlayUp, which relies on Amelco and Sportradar for its betting platforms, also violated New Jersey law by accepting two bets worth nearly $700 on a Seton Hall University basketball game on January 18, 2023. State law explicitly prohibits bets on New Jersey college teams. The violation underscores ongoing challenges in maintaining adherence to state-specific betting rules.

 

This incident underscores the critical need for sportsbooks to rigorously vet their betting markets and ensure compliance with state regulations to maintain public trust

 

The Future

These incidents are not isolated. In 2021, fines were levied against Kambi Group and Rush Street Interactive for similar violations involving already-completed events. More recently, in September 2024, bet365 was fined $33,000 for taking bets on completed basketball, golf, and mixed martial arts events. These recurring issues point to systemic challenges within the sports betting industry, where rapid market expansion often outpaces the implementation of robust regulatory compliance measures.

The Atlantic City cases highlight the critical importance of maintaining rigorous controls within the sports betting industry. As the sector continues to grow, ensuring that betting markets are accurate, compliant, and transparent is essential to preserving public trust and regulatory credibility. For sportsbooks, these fines serve as a costly reminder of the consequences of lapses in oversight.