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ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey gambling regulators have levied their first fine for underage internet gambling, assessing the company behind the playsugarhouse.com website $30,000 for allowing underage gamblers to place bets online for more than a year.
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The state Division of Gaming Enforcement said Wednesday that the activity happened between November 2016 and January 2018 due to a software defect that did not accurately record patrons' birthdates.
It has since been fixed.
Thirteen people between the ages of 18 and 20 were able to create accounts and make online bets worth nearly $5,000. Gamblers must be at least 21 to make legal bets in New Jersey.
The fine was issued Jan. 7 and made public Wednesday. It was the first for underage internet gambling issued by New Jersey regulators since online gambling began in the state in Nov. 2013, according to Kerry Langan, a spokeswoman for the gaming enforcement division.
Rush Street Interactive NJ and the state agreed on the $30,000 penalty.
"We take this matter very seriously," the company said in a statement issued Wednesday. "As soon as our team discovered the misconfiguration, we self-reported it to the gaming commission and took immediate action to correct and prevent recurrence. Responsible gaming is a top priority for us."
The company has offices in Chicago and New Jersey. Although the SugarHouse casino is located in Philadelphia, its online arm is licensed in New Jersey through an affiliation with the Golden Nugget casino, which was not part of the complaint from state officials.
The gaming enforcement division said a defect in Rush Street Interactive's code was discovered in January 2018. Instead of precisely recording a patron's date of birth, it allowed a three-year variation in that date, letting underage patrons create and use internet gambling accounts.
