DraftKings under the microscope after $150,000 New Jersey fine

Industry giant DraftKings has been fined $150,000 by the New Jersey gaming regulator for allowing a Florida gambler to place bets through a friend living in New Jersey.  

Current gambling laws in Florida only legislate for regulated tribal sites, not online arenas. The bets outsourced by the Florida man to a friend in New Jersey therefore represent a breach in state law.  

The Florida man has held a DraftKings account and used it illegally since 2019. With no regulatory action taken by the operator in the three years since, the New Jersey gambling regulator has resultantly sanctioned DraftKings. 

As reported by the Associated Press, a settlement was made public on Wednesday (2/03/2022), with DraftKings accepting the fine issued by the New Jersey Division of Gambling Enforcement. 

Along with the fine, DraftKings has agreed to implement a string of corrective actions. This includes voiding the 21 bids made by the anonymous offender from Florida, and permanently closing his DraftKings account. 

The operator has also agreed to ameliorate training standards, providing employees with the necessary skill sets to recognise and prevent such illicit activity as that committed by the Florida player.  

DraftKings released a statement regarding the issuance of the fine, which read: “We strive to continuously improve our systems to detect violations of our terms of use. 

“In this instance, our systems failed to detect the violation of our terms of use. We have taken corrective action to address that.”    

DraftKings has declined to give further comment and would not make company officials available for interviews.  

Despite maintaining anonymity, the Associated Press said the Floridian offender is well known as a big-time gambler. It is claimed bets from his account have previously reached up to $50,000 on a single game.