The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE) has ordered FOX Bet to pay a fine of $80,000 (€73,613) for historical sports betting breaches.
According to the order notice, the fine relates to a breach of gambling regulations in 2021 when the sportsbook accepted wagers on prohibited sporting events that involved in-state college teams.
New Jersey gaming regulations state that sports betting operators do not offer odds nor accept wagers on college sporting events that involve in-state teams or athletes.
However, the NJDGE found that in February 2021 FOX Bet accepted wagers on an NCAA basketball game between Rutgers University and Northwestern University. The complaint for this breach was originally filed in August 2021, but then later that year in November the regulator also found that FOX Bet accepted wagers NCAA game between Monmouth University and Lehigh University.
This was followed by more wagers accepted on New Year’s Eve 2021 on the game between Fairleigh Dickinson University and St. Francis University. The sportsbook breached rules once again the following January by taking bets on two more fixtures.
Discussions between all concerned parties have resulted in the decision being taken by NJDGE Director David Rebuck to order that the full $80,000 penalty be paid by the holding company of FOX Bet, TSG Interactive US Services.
Fine imposed days before closure
The news of the financial penalty comes just days before the scheduled closing down of FOX Bet. Parent company Flutter Entertainment announced the closure citing poor performance. In its latest financial report Flutter stated that FOX Bet contributed less than 3% to the company’s total U.S. revenue figure of $3.3 billion / £2.6 billion / €3.03 billion in 2022.
FOX Bet will close permanently on August 31st, 2023 with Fox retaining the future use of the FOX and FOX Bet brands. Fox will also continue to hold its its 2.5% stake in Flutter alongside its option to acquire 18.6% of FanDuel, enabling it to tap in to an estimated 57 million gamblers in the US.
U.S. fines top $717k so far in 2023
So far in 2023, U.S. gaming regulators have issued $717,964 in fines to gambling operators. The largest fine so far in 2023 was issued by the Colorado gaming regulator. It fined Monarch Casinos & Resort $400,000 for allowing sportsbook employees to place proxy bets on behalf of out-of-state customers.
Ciaran has been working within the Gambling Industry as a deep analyst since 2019. His deep knowledge and understanding of all the gambling regulations, and processes makes him a true asset, and an always valuable point of view for Gambling Industry News, allowing us to cover every topics from a brand new perspective.
