New Jersey DGE Fines Caesars Sportsbook

By John Isaac,
Editor at online-gambling.com

John Isaac Editor at online-gambling.com

John Isaac is an editor with many years of experience in the gambling industry. He writes expert articles on card games like blackjack and poker. In addition, he is also well aware of the US gambling laws and the Indian and Dutch gambling markets. You can rely on verified information and insightful details.

• Twitter
• Email

More About John Isaac

Last updated: December 12, 2022

The New Jersey DGE (Division of Gaming Enforcement) has issued Caesars Sportsbook a $500 regulatory fine for failing to pay out a winning hockey bet worth more than $27,000. In October, state gaming regulators resolved a complaint from a New Jersey bettor who said that Caesars was not abiding by its betting terms and conditions.

The bettor, whose identity has not been disclosed during the almost year-long dispute, claimed that he risked the over on the total score of the game set at 4.5 goals. The bet was made on a game in the Kontinental Hockey League.

The game, which was between Dinamo Riga and Vityaz Podolsk, ended with a 2-2 tie and went into overtime, where the fifth goal was scored eventually. Caesars Sportsbook claimed he lost the bet as the goals scored in overtime will not count in the game under/over point spread. However, the DGE has another thought on the matter.

Caesars Is Asked to Pay Bettors Winning in Full

The deputy attorney general for DGE, Chuck Kimmel, investigated the issue. She discovered that Caesars Sportsbook does not have it anywhere in its fine print that goal scored during overtime period would not count. Chuck Kimmel wrote in the DGE order that Caesars House Rules published did not say anything about hockey overtime scoring not being counted against the sportsbook under/over. The order was endorsed and signed by the Director of DGE, David Rebuck, on November 10, 2022.

Chuck Kimmel added that Caesars, on October 24, 2022, agreed to pay the bettors winning in full, and agreed to pay the $500 regulatory fine for their error. Authorized under the sports and gaming betting laws of the state, the DGE can penalize a sportsbook licensee that violates its own rules with a monetary penalty of up to $2,000. But in this case, the DGE chose not to go too hard with the sportsbook.

Through its subsidiary, Caesars Interactive Entertainment New Jersey, Caesars Entertainment manages Caesars Sportsbook and grants the sports betting entity a license for operation in the state. Caesars Sportsbook runs in Atlantic City inside Caesars, Harrah’s, and Tropicana. The sportsbook also runs online gambling across New Jersey.

Caesars’ Previous Fines

Earlier in January, the DGE fined Caesars Entertainment $50K for violating some regulations. State gaming regulators found out that at least 49 of the sportsbook’s workers who were supposed to register and get key worker licenses with the DGE did not do so. Caesars mentioned the registration failure to the state. According to the Casino Control Act, the DGE is required to review the suitability of key workers who assist in managing a licensed gaming property.

This legal requirement is to ensure that there are no bad individuals or actors with criminal records in Atlantic City, as well as the state’s online sports betting and iGaming industries. In January, David Rebuck said that Caesars has agreed to pay the $50k penalty in recognition of the magnitude of its failures concerning non-compliance.