New Jersey Reveals Details Surrounding $25,000 Fine for PointsBet

The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office announced they had fined PointsBet Sportsbook $25,000 last month but did not disclose details on why. That changed on Tuesday when they granted a request from the Associated Press. According to their statement, PointsBet committed three violations by offering bets prohibited by the state’s sports betting law. While PointsBet caught their error in all three instances and refunded the bets, it did not stop Garden State from assessing a fine.

The first violation was from August 2021, when PointsBet accidentally left a pre-match bet open after the game had started. One bettor wagered over $13,000 on it, but PointsBet caught the error, voided the bed, and issued a refund of the bet amount. 

The second violation occurred during the 2022 NCAA Tournament, where the sportsbook offered bets on an in-state team, St. Peters. While New Jersey allows wagering on college sports, doing so on in-state schools is prohibited. The mistake was caught within an hour of the bet going up on the board, with only $60 in wagers being placed. Those bets were canceled, and the wager amount was refunded.

The final violation occurred over an e-sports wager that involved a team with a player who was 17 years old. Betting on athletes under the age of 18 is prohibited, even though it was just one player. PointsBet saw $1,225 in bets, which were voided and refunded.

PointsBet Has Denied to Comment on Violations

PointsBet has yet to release an official statement, but they did tell the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE) that the mistakes resulted from human error and software issues. 

"PointsBet stated that the 'overwhelming' number of matches offered through PointsBet made it 'unrealistic' to check and verify each event and the market offered for wagering," the NJDGE states in a document outlining the details surrounding the violations.

The state credited PointsBet for quickly catching and correcting all three violations, leading to a relatively small fine. However, it does show that the state will investigate all violations, regardless of the size.