New Jersey slaps $20,000 fine on William Hill; $10,000 on Amelco

Sankunni K December 12, 2024

SiGMA news

The has imposed fines on ok and for regulatory violations involving the acceptance of wagers on events that had already concluded and on prohibited events.

William Hill penalised for post-event wagers

William Hill Sportsbook, operating retail locations at Caesars, Harrah’s, and Tropicana casinos in Atlantic City, was fined $20,000 for accepting approximately $25,000 in bets on events that had already ended. These incidents occurred in 2022 and 2023 and involved college basketball games, hockey matches, and boxing events.

The sportsbook attributed the errors to its content supplier, OpenBet, which provided incorrect event start times. For instance, on February 23 and 24, 2022, William Hill accepted 42 bets via in-person kiosks on 12 college basketball games after their completion, resulting in over $5,000 paid out on six bets before the mistake was identified. The remaining bets were voided, and customers received refunds.

Similar issues arose with boxing matches. On June 11, 2022, bets were accepted on the Chris Kongo vs. Sebastian Formella fight after it had concluded, due to an incorrect start time listing. A comparable error occurred on April 15, 2023, with the Denzel Bentley vs. Kieran Smith fight.

Amelco fined for unauthorised bets

Amelco, a London-based sports betting technology provider, was fined $10,000 for allowing its partner, PlayUp, to accept prohibited wagers. In March 2022, PlayUp accepted a bet on U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg becoming the next U.S. president, which was not permitted at that time. Additionally, in January 2023, PlayUp accepted two bets totalling nearly $700 on a Seton Hall University basketball game, violating New Jersey’s prohibition on betting on in-state college teams.

Amelco attributed the political bet error to its data provider, Sportradar, which listed the U.S. presidential election under a category that was automatically included in its betting markets. Sportradar clarified that it does not label betting markets as authorised or unauthorised, leaving compliance responsibility to each sports betting company.

Ongoing regulatory oversight

These fines are part of the DGE’s ongoing efforts to enforce compliance within New Jersey’s regulated sports betting industry. In September 2024, bet365 was fined $33,000 for accepting wagers on events that had already occurred, including basketball, golf, and mixed martial arts events.