Two of the biggest offshore sportsbooks illegally taking bets from US punters have suddenly shut up shop in New Jersey.
They are BetOnline.ag and Bookmaker.eu and both have advised their NJ users that their accounts have been closed.
SportsBook.adviser has reported that Panama City-based BetOnline sent its New Jersey users the following e-mail.
‘It has come to our attention that your BetOnline account is registered in New Jersey. Please note that, per our terms and conditions, BetOnline does not accept customers from New Jersey. Your account has therefore been closed. All pending wagers have been canceled and refunded. You have until September 30th, 2019, to withdraw your remaining funds.’
Other reports circulating claim that NJ punters registered with Costa Rica-based Bookmaker.eu received similar emails last week.
NJ punters were told why they could no longer be customers. However, they were not told why, after a year of illegal betting, this ruling should suddenly apply.
Is DGE threat behind the shut-down?
Some believe it’s because of a threat made by NJ’s director of the Division of Gaming Enforcement, David Rubuck.
He said: “It’s not going to be easy, but you can never let (illegal operators) just get a pass. In the future, I see that being a major initiative for the regulated markets to work to figure out the best ways to go after people.”
That was a year ago. On the surface, however, there has been no evidence of any such activity taking place. No offshore, unlicensed sportsbooks are known to have been prosecuted. Nor have any punters using them or media that have promoted them – and not surprisingly.
In truth combating illegal offshore online gaming can be extremely difficult and costly, even when conducted on a Federal basis. Prosecutors prefer to spend their resources on more series crime.
Why then, after 12 months of breaking the law, have BetOnline and Bookmaker now decided to cease their illegal activities?
Could it not be because of the fierce competition they are now getting from New Jersey’s 15 legal online sportsbooks?
And this is especially so since FOX Bet, Bet365, and theScore Bet has joined US titans FanDuel and DraftKings. Also in the picture are other international big guns like William Hill, 888sport and PointsBet.
Are illegal NJ sportsbooks no longer worth the trouble?
Could it be that for the reasons already mentioned, running illegal sportsbooks in New Jersey is no longer worth it?
Are BetOnline and Bookmaker not being squeezed out for the very reason the American Gaming Association predicted they would be?
The AGA believes that safe, strictly licensed internal sports betting will eventually kill illegal adversaries.
Though, the New Jersey-led US sports betting revolution includes less than a third of the US’s 50 states. Many more are working at joining them. However, the AGA expects that there will still be more illegal than legal bets among the 38 million expected during the NFL’s 100th season.
