The owner of the PokerStars and BetStars online gambling brands was fined a record fine by New Jersey gambling regulators for accepting bets on prohibited sporting events, it has emerged
The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement slapped a $10,000 penalty on online gambling giant The Stars Group on April 12 for two incidents of failure to comply with state gambling regulations. The levy was the highest one imposed on a locally-licensed sports betting operator since the practice was legalized last June.
The Division of Gaming Enforcement found that PokerStars’ owner accepted 217 bets on prohibited sporting events late last year. On November 19, The Stars’ New Jersey betting operation processed 216 wagers on a game of Rutgers University men’s basketball team against Eastern Michigan University. On December 31, the gaming and betting operator accepted a single bet on the Monmouth University against University of Pennsylvania men’s college basketball game.
Under state law, licensed sportsbooks are prohibited to accept wagers on collegiate games involving in-state teams or events that take place at venues around the state. New Jersey is the sole US jurisdiction to have adopted the provision, although multiple other states have considered its implementation.
”Manual Gating Error”
A first complaint regarding The Stars’ compliance failure was filed with New Jersey regulators on December 28, 2018, and a second one arrived around January 30. The company voided all bets on the two above-mentioned games and returned its customers’ funds prior to the Division of Gaming Enforcement’s ruling in mid-April.
The company said in a statement from earlier this week that while it generally does not comment on regulatory matters, it “had a manual gating error from [its]
international games into New Jersey” which caused the breach of rules. The Stars’ statement read further that they cooperated with state regulators and “have learned from the problem.”
The Stars provides sports betting services in New Jersey through a partnership with the land-based Resorts Casino & Hotel in Atlantic City. The Canadian company debuted its BetStarsNJ sportsbook in September 2018, three months after the legalization of sports betting in New Jersey.
The Stars officially went live in the state in the spring of 2016 when it received regulatory approval to launch its PokerStars brand. The entry of the online poker operation into the regulated New Jersey market marked its return to the United States after it was shamefully banished from the nation as it was found to have kept servicing US players after the enforcement of the UIGEA legislation.
New Jersey’s regulated sports betting market has been growing at a stable pace since first wagering operations were launched last June. The state’s sportsbooks have handled more than $2 billion in bets since the market was opened. The majority of wagers were taken via mobile betting apps.
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