New Jersey Casinos Forced to Forfeit Winnings from Underage and Self-Excluded Gamblers
Six casinos in New Jersey have been ordered to forfeit almost $75,000 in winnings from underage gamblers and players who had self-excluded from gambling. Ocean Casino Resort, Resorts Casino Hotel, Golden Nugget Atlantic City, Bally’s Atlantic City, Harrah’s Resorts Atlantic City, and Parx Casino at Freehold Raceway were found to have breached state laws on legal gambling age and self-exclusion rules in October.
Resorts Casino Hotel was hit the hardest, being required to forfeit $51,643 in winnings. The casino was issued four forfeiture orders, with the largest being $33,590 for allowing a self-excluded individual to play. Other orders related to underage gambling and identification checking failures.
Ocean Casino Resort will give up $7,403 in winnings from underage players and other ID issues. Bally’s Atlantic City will also forfeit $5,621 in winnings from players who had self-excluded in New Jersey.
Golden Nugget Atlantic City will forfeit $4,232 over underage gambling, self-exclusion failure, and lack of adequate ID checks. Harrah’s Resorts Atlantic City will also give up $886 from underage players. Additionally, Parx Casino at Freehold Raceway is to forfeit $4,427 worth of winnings from self-excluded visitors.
In addition to the casinos, DraftKings and Rush Street Interactive have also faced penalties in New Jersey. DraftKings has been ordered to pay $7,500 for allowing a self-excluded individual to create an online account and place bets despite being registered with the New Jersey self-exclusion scheme. Rush Street Interactive’s penalty relates to taking wagers on unapproved events and pre-match bets on games that had already started. The operator faces a penalty of $2,500.
All forfeiture orders and penalties were issued by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement and date back as far as 2020, with details of each only now being made public. Part of the forfeited funds will be used to support programs to treat gambling-related harm in New Jersey.