William Hill and Amelco, two sportsbooks in New Jersey, were recently fined by the Division of Gaming Enforcement for accepting illegitimate bets. William Hill was fined $20,000 for accepting over $25,000 in wagers on sporting events that had already concluded, while Amelco received a $10,000 punishment for taking bets on events prohibited by state law.
The errors made by William Hill were attributed to their data supplier for their platform, OpenBet. The mistake led to the operator accepting bets on college basketball games that had already finished. Customers were paid out over $5,000 before the error was discovered, with one bettor losing a $500 wager on an event that had already taken place. The remaining customers had their bets voided and stakes returned. Additionally, William Hill repeated the error for two boxing matches due to human trading errors, incorrectly reporting start times for the bouts.
William Hill has since taken measures to address the issue and prevent similar occurrences in the future. Amelco, on the other hand, received a $10,000 fine for allowing the PlayUp sportsbook to accept a bet of just one dollar on Pete Buttigieg becoming the next US president, which was forbidden under state law at the time. Amelco also took wagers on college basketball games due to an oversight involving their partner, SportRadar, which is prohibited in New Jersey.
PlayUp, the sportsbook involved in the presidential wager, did not respond to the complaint and had ceased their sports betting operations in the US in 2023. Both William Hill and Amelco accepted the fines and did not contest the ruling by the regulator. The operators have acknowledged their errors and are working to ensure compliance with state laws and regulations in the future.