The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) is cracking down on the state’s sportsbooks.
Companies in the state have been encouraging players to cancel their withdrawals to keep gambling. The DGE investigated the situation after receiving a large number of complaints.
Delayed sportsbook withdrawals are responsible gaming stumble
The problem isn’t players canceling withdrawals, it’s the fact that sportsbooks are asking them to. Gamblers have always been able to reverse a withdrawal, so long as the company they’re betting with isn’t pushing them to do so.
Some New Jersey sportsbooks offered bonuses to gamblers in exchange for canceling their withdrawal. That went hand-in-hand with the sportsbooks also delaying the withdrawals themselves.
Both prongs of that strategy go against the state’s gaming laws.
When a gambler decides they’ve had enough and cashes out, that has to be the end of it. Anything less is a grave failure of responsible gambling practices.
Obviously, the DGE is less than thrilled with the situation.
“Operators should clearly understand the Division will take regulatory action and impose civil penalties whenever patrons are improperly encouraged or incentivized to rescind their withdrawal requests to resume gaming activity.”
The DGE’s report did not mention any operators individually. However, it’s safe to say that there will be consequences if things carry on.
New Jersey is hitting all-time highs as a sports betting market. Responsible gaming slips like this display the predatory side of that growth.
New Jersey betting handle nears $1 billion
The Garden State released its sports betting numbers for December on the same day that the DGE’s report came out.
The state handled over $996 million worth of wagers throughout the month.
For the sake of comparison, that number more than triples Indiana’s December handle. Football betting alone racked up $323 million in wagers in New Jersey, out-performing all of Indiana’s handle last month.
Those numbers are huge, but they’re hardly a surprise.
New Jersey is the biggest sports betting market in the country. The state handled over $6 billion worth of wagers in 2020 alone.
Business is booming, but it could be coming at too high of a cost if predatory practices are what’s driving it.
Since the level of competition is so high in New Jersey, sportsbooks may have been using the push to cancel withdrawals as a way to get a leg up. At the very least, the strategy was designed to keep people playing and increase business.
So far, other states that have legal sports gambling haven’t reported similar issues.
However, just know that if a sportsbook ever asks you to cancel a withdrawal, this is not normal practice and should be reported to your state’s gaming authorities.
