Atlantic City Sports Betting Scandals Under Scrutiny

Recent sports betting infractions in Atlantic City have sparked renewed concerns about compliance and operational reliability within the industry. William Hill Sportsbook has been fined $20,000 by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement after accepting $25,000 in bets on events that had already concluded. The violations, occurring across 2022 and 2023, involved college basketball, hockey, and boxing matches. Although many of the wagers were voided once the errors were identified, some had already been paid out to bettors, exposing significant regulatory lapses.

Operating retail sportsbooks at Caesars, Harrah’s, and Tropicana casinos, William Hill attributed the mishaps to OpenBet, a London-based technology partner. A particularly glaring error occurred on February 23 and 24, 2022, when 42 bets were placed on 12 college basketball games after their results were already finalized. Six of these bets, totaling over $5,000, were paid out to customers, while the remainder were voided, and bettors received refunds. William Hill cited scheduling errors by OpenBet as the root cause. OpenBet, however, has yet to comment publicly on the incident.

Boxing matches also revealed regulatory shortcomings. On June 11, 2022, William Hill inaccurately advertised the start time of the Chris Kongo-Sebastian Formella fight as noon, even though the bout concluded at 11:55 a.m. A similar error occurred on April 15, 2023, with the Denzel Bentley-Kieran Smith fight, which ended in a first-minute knockout at 11:55 a.m., despite being listed as starting at noon. These incidents highlight the complexities of managing real-time event schedules in global betting operations.

Additional Violations by Industry Players

Amelco, another London-based technology provider, was fined $10,000 for allowing sportsbook PlayUp to offer unauthorized bets. In March 2022, PlayUp accepted a wager on Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to become the next U.S. president—a bet prohibited under New Jersey law at the time. Amelco attributed the mistake to its data provider, Sportradar, which had miscategorized the U.S. presidential election as an eligible event. Sportradar defended its role, stating that sportsbooks are solely responsible for ensuring compliance with local regulations.

PlayUp also violated New Jersey law by accepting two wagers totaling nearly $700 on a Seton Hall University basketball game on January 18, 2023. State law prohibits bets on collegiate teams based in New Jersey, further emphasizing the challenges sportsbooks face in adhering to state-specific restrictions.

Industry Implications

These cases underline the persistent regulatory and operational challenges in the sports betting industry. As the market continues to expand, ensuring accurate event timing, adherence to state laws, and improved oversight of technology providers will remain critical to maintaining public trust and regulatory compliance.