In New Jersey, there are several restrictions on placing bets on collegiate sports teams. Even if the teams are not from the area, bets on college teams from New Jersey or any collegiate game played there are prohibited. Sports fans may find this disappointing, yet it is required by state law. It appears that BetMGM accepted wagers on local basketball games last year at the proper times. The brand is already paying fines totaling $25,000 for wagers under $100.
Betting on College Basketball is Accepted
According to records from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE), BetMGM took two bets on a match during the tournament of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in March. The contest featured Marist College and Niagara University and was held in Atlantic City.
BetMGM was punished for the bets. The company claimed that its IT partner Entain PLC was to blame for the problem. Entain was allegedly to blame for the mistakes that resulted in the wagers being accepted. The sportsbook claims that Entain develops the betting markets. The location of the game is one of the steps in this procedure. It was their responsibility to report it and prevent the wagers from being placed in the Garden State.
The DGE claims that Entain's trade operations section missed the error, despite the fact that it had to be manually input to confirm the game's location. The regulator stated that although both organisations typically employ an automated mechanism for venue verification, it was not applied in this particular case.
Days Later, Another Prohibited Bet
Less than an hour after the bets went live, the wagers were invalidated when the mistake regarding the tournament game was discovered. The customers who placed bets on the games received refunds. Less than two weeks later, Rutgers University's college basketball game was the subject of a bespoke parlay provided by BetMGM and Borgata's online operations.
Eight hours passed before it was noticed that this sports wager was incorrect, therefore it was accessible for much longer. There were just two bets totaling $30 on the game. The parlay was established by an Australian employee of Entain who was unaware that Rutgers was a team from New Jersey and shouldn't have been bet on.
Regarding the specifics of the fine, BetMGM has not yet responded. It wouldn't be shocking to learn that additional measures have been put in place to make sure that this kind of error doesn't occur again.
