Borgata Busted Again in New Jersey For Overstating Promo Credits

New Jersey sports betting regulators have again come down on Borgata Casino after a recent audit confirmed significant overstatements of iGaming promotional gaming credits for the BetMGM brand. Regulators oversee our best sports betting sites and New Jersey online casinos in the Garden State.

This week, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement fined Borgata Casino $75,000 in civil damages for the transgressions and the ultimate underpaying of state taxes by the BetMGM online casino product.

It is the second time New Jersey regulators have fined the brand in the last 18 months, which regulators noted in the handing down of its sanction.

The issue

An audit of Borgata Casino New Jersey lasted from Oct. 2023 to May 2024. It found that Borgata understated its gross revenues by over $4.5 million and, in turn, underpaid taxes by $365,161.

Simply put, Borgata incorrectly deducted more credits than it should have. The company included table game bonuses in the Borgata online casino when calculating iGaming promotional credits, which is prohibited under New Jersey regulations.

Borgata has blamed a software glitch for the indiscretion, and the audit all but confirmed that the latest incident was due to a software upgrade on the BetMGM platform. In any case, it was still a direct violation of the Garden State gaming laws, the second one for the brand in less than two years.

More of the same

Less than 18 months ago, Borgata Casino faced similar scrutiny by the DGE. Last March, the online casino was found in violation of overstating promotional credits by $10 million. Borgata escaped over $787,000 in taxes in that incident.

It takes the running total for Borgata’s unpaid taxes during the last 18 months past $1 million.

The repeat of violations caught the ire of New Jersey Department of Gaming enforcement officials.

DGE Interim Director Mary Jo Flaherty came down hard on Borgata. In a letter to Borgata's Senior Vice President and Legal Counsel Patrick Madama, she said,  “The Division views this matter as serious. “The original violation was an understatement of gross revenue by almost $10 million. This second understatement of gross revenue was in an amount of over $4.5 million. These understatements resulted in the assessment of additional taxes, tax penalties and interest of over $1.3 million. The fact that this conduct was repeated less than 18 months after the Division warned an additional violation of this type could result in a civil penalty is also to be considered.”

She hinted at higher penalties for Borgata going forward, including bigger fines and other regulatory action.

DGE has been active

In addition to dealing with a pair of violations by Borgata Casino New Jersey, the DGE has been busy enforcing regulations with other online gambling providers. 

In July, the agency fined DraftKings New Jersey $100,000 for reporting errors that produced incorrect tax returns for the company during a three-month period. Regulators cited “gross errors and failures” in the DraftKings case.

In August, the Department forced bet365 New Jersey to pay over half a million dollars to New Jersey bettors who were victims of the sportsbook changing odds without notifying the regulatory body, as required by law, or the bettors who were affected—199 wagers were identified in that filing.