NJ fines BetMGM $25K for bets on prohibited basketball games

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — BetMGM took less than $100 worth of bets last year on New Jersey college basketball games that weren’t supposed to be wagered on. Now, it will pay a $25,000 fine.

State law prohibits betting on New Jersey college teams, as well as on any collegiate game played in New Jersey — even if they feature teams from other states. That same law is preventing fans of Jersey City-based Saint Peter's University from betting legally on their Cinderella team's Sweet 16 game Friday.

New Jersey voters had a chance to change this law last November, but overwhelmingly defeated a referendum that would have allowed such bets.

If New Jersey fans want to bet legally on the Saint Peter's game, they will have to travel out of state to do it.

In documents made public last week, New Jersey gambling regulators imposed the fine on BetMGM, which is allied with the Borgata casino, over bets placed on a tournament game and on a Rutgers University game.

The state Division of Gaming Enforcement said BetMGM accepted two bets on March 10, 2021 on a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament game between Niagara University and Marist College that was to be played in Atlantic City the next day.

The division fined BetMGM, but noted that the company blamed its technology partner, Entain PLC, for initiating the series of errors that led to the bets being improperly offered. BetMGM told the enforcement division that Entain normally initiates the creation of betting markets, a process that includes checking where the game is to be played, but Entain failed to flag the game as being played in New Jersey.

Neither BetMGM nor Entain responded to requests for comment Tuesday and Wednesday, but BetMGM entered into a settlement agreement with the state under which they will pay the...