Two Sportsbooks Make Major Mistakes
The legal sports betting industry in the United States just continues to grow as more and more states are exploring this form of gambling. Maryland is a state that just launched online sports betting, and Ohio is getting ready to do just that on the first day of 2023.
Most of the news surrounding sports betting in these states has focused on positive updates, but there have also been some problems over the last few weeks. BetMGM and Barstool Sportsbook are in the news for all of the wrong reasons, and it could end up costing those operators some money.
BetMGM is in trouble in the state of Maryland for what is being described as an inadvertent mistake, but that isn’t the case for Barstool. The Penn National Company could face some fines in Ohio before legal sports betting is even live.
It’s important to remember that online sports betting is regulated, and there are a specific set of laws that have to be followed in every state. Punishments do happen from time-to-time, but the potential violations by these two companies are a pretty serious deal.
BetMGM Goes Live Too Early
Legal online sports betting in the state of Maryland officially launched on November 23rd, but bettors were actually able to place bets at BetMGM Sportsbook one week earlier. According to an official report, BetMGM accepted more than 140 different wagers on November 16th, and this was before the Maryland Lottery had even ran checks to ensure that the site was working.
The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission has fined BetMGM $146,000 for the premature bets, and BetMGM has agreed to pay the fine. The company acknowledged that it was a simple mistake in accepting the wagers, and most of them were voided out before any of the accounts were paid out.
This will go down as the largest fine ever handed out by the Maryland Lottery, and it’s unusual to see BetMGM make a mistake like this. This company is one of the leaders in the sports betting industry, but it failed to ensure that everything was working properly in the state.
Barstool Targeting Minors?
The Barstool Sportsbook could be facing a fine in the state of Ohio, and it’s already in a battle in the state of Massachusetts. According to a report, Barstool is being investigated for potentially advertising to people that are under 21 years of age.
This all stems from a visit from the Barstool College Football Show to the campus of Toledo back on November 1. Barstool is one of the operators expected to go live on January 1, 2023 in the state, and it was telling those in attendance about the pre-registration bonuses and promotions that were available.
Barstool has been promoting it’s responsible gambling tactics in the state of Massachusetts as it seeks a license there, but this is a pretty big knock on the sportsbook. It’s unclear if a fine is coming for Barstool, but there will be a hearing with the Ohio Casino Control Commission.
