The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) has ordered gaming and betting operator bet365 to pay out over $500K to dozens of bettors after revising its odds. The authority was unhappy with the fact that the operator made those changes without securing regulatory approval even if the original odds were errant.
Bet365 Altered Wagering Odds Because of an Alleged Error
For context, the DGE understood that bet365 had, between 2020 and 2022, “unilaterally revised odds for a significant number of wagers.” During a routine audit, the authority learned that the operator had corrected the odds for 13 sporting events because of what it claimed was an error in its house rules.
The change affected the odds for concluded wagers. According to bet365, this was due to incorrect odds provided by its partners. The operator argued that it should have been allowed to revise this error.
However, the DGE emphasized that all operators are prohibited from voiding wagers or changing odds without its approval. As a result, the DGE ordered bet365 to fulfill all payouts affected by the operator’s revisions.
In total, bet365 was forced to pay out $519,323.32 to 199 patron accounts within 10 days of July 22, the date on which the order was sent to the operator.
New Jersey Requires Operators to Honor Their Bets
The events in question bet365 took the wagers on included the 2021 NCAA basketball game between BYU and Oregon when it took 59 winning bets but revised the odds after the event.
The DGE emphasized that bet365’s rules allow it to revise obviously errant odds for an event but only if they ask the regulator for approval beforehand. Bet365, however, didn’t do so, which was described as problematic and unacceptable by DGE’s interim director, Mary Jo Flaherty.
Flaherty elaborated that the failures “are problematic as to bet365’s business ability to conduct online gaming and the integrity and reliability of its operational systems.” Flaherty further added that the operator thus misled customers, causing incorrect payouts to almost two hundred patrons.
The order aligns with New Jersey’s philosophy to make operators honor all bets, even if they were made with errors. This is not the first time the DGE has issued a similar request either as it has previously requested other major operators, including DraftKings, to pay out voided bets.
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