New Jersey’s gaming regulator fined DraftKings $32,500 for taking illegal wagers, among other violations, according to The Press of Atlantic City.
Key Takeaways
- DraftKings misspelled the name of an F1 driver at the Austrian Grand Prix.
- Win totals for Rutgers were posted despite a prohibition on in-state college sports betting.
- The operator accepted wagers on past events with known outcomes.
The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE) penned a letter to DraftKings informing it of its violations.
DraftKings failed to meet several standards outlined by the state’s gaming laws. That included accepting bets on prohibited markets, providing odds in markets with incorrect participants, and taking wagers on events that had already finished.
The NJDGE outlined a few incidents. In August 2021, DraftKings posted “Season Win Totals” odds for Rutgers despite state laws outlawing sportsbooks from offering odds related to in-state schools and universities, regardless of where they play.
In November 2024, DraftKings allowed users to place bets on NCAA women’s volleyball matches that had already finished, meaning customers were effectively guaranteed wins.
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More mistakes
The list of violations didn’t end there.
In June 2024, DraftKings misspelled the name of a driver competing in the F1 Austrian Grand Prix.
In August 2024, the company took bets on the first half of a rescheduled soccer that had made it to halftime months earlier, so users already knew the outcomes.
DraftKings voided all bets and refunded all affected customers. However, the NJDGE said the frequency of the violations warranted a financial punishment to remind DraftKings of its responsibility to maintain safe and compliant practices.
DraftKings’ fines piling up
DraftKings is no stranger to run-ins with state gaming regulators. In July, it received a $450,000 fine from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission for accepting more than 1,100 credit card account deposits despite a state mandate that credit cards were not acceptable methods of deposit.
In November 2024, the operator settled with the Ohio Casino Control Commission on a $425,000 fine for taking unapproved bets on college player props and allowing credit card deposits, which were also illegal in Ohio.
Connecticut’s gaming regulator also fined DraftKings Casino $19,000 in September 2024 for an unwinnable online slot machine game that did not pay a penny in winnings after 20,000 spins in roughly one week.
The NJDGE previously fined DraftKings $100,000 in July 2024 for "unacceptable" data errors and $20,000 later that year for hosting unapproved events.
