Some sportsbooks in New Jersey have requested customers not take cash out of their accounts, to the displeasure of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE). In a letter on the DGE website, Director David Rebuck said that urging consumers not to withdrawal funds violates several state rules, and he’s threatening fines.
Rebuck said a few sportsbooks offered cash bonuses to customers who cancelled requests, but did not reveal their names or how many complaints the agency received, according to the Associated Press.
“Patrons who request withdrawals have the right to receive their funds as expeditiously as possible,” he wrote. “Operators should clearly understand that the Division will take regulatory action and impose civil penalties whenever patrons are improperly encouraged or incentivized to rescind their withdrawal.”
Rebuck did not specify a timeline. But a DGE investigation found some customers did not get access to their money for two weeks, according to Legal Sports Report.
New Jersey, the national leader in sports betting, has the strictest regulatory system in the nation, a model for others to follow. Yet Stop Predatory Gambling accused the state attorney general’s office of “moral hypocrisy” for litigating against the opioid industry, but taking a more lenient approach to sportsbooks.
“This is a naked attempt by online gambling operators to get citizens to lose more money,” said Les Bernal, the group’s director. “What New Jersey should be doing is suspending and fining them, not just some long-winded letter threatening future action.”
Under New Jersey rules, operators can take a non-specific time frame to ensure bettors identity and investigate fraud or money laundering. Once those issues are resolved, customers should receive money immediately, officials say.
“In the period between a withdrawal request and the actual release of funds to the customer, patrons reported contact from providers encouraging or enticing them to reverse the withdrawal request and wager the funds,” Rebuck wrote. “It has been reported by some patrons that they were even offered bonus money to reverse a pending withdrawal request.”
Keith Whyte, the executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling, wants the DGE to name names.
“There are some serious responsible gambling concerns here,” Whyte said. “Especially around the solicitation of play during arbitrarily extended withdrawal times.” One possible option, Whyte said, was a self-exclusion button for reverse withdrawals.
Richard Schwartz, president of Rush Street Interactive, which operates PlaySugarhouse.com in New Jersey, said the company approved more than 75 percent of online player cash-out requests during the fourth quarter of last year. “Our automated payout system protects our players by enabling them to cash out quickly so they don’t otherwise cancel their payout requests and continue gambling with their winnings,” he said.
Whyte suggests three policy solutions that could correct the problem. First, players should be able to lock in a withdrawal, in effect preventing it from being reversed. Second, oblige sportsbooks to add responsible gambling messaging if reverse withdrawals are permitted. Third, players who reverse multiple withdrawals should be flagged as high-risk.
