The Borgata Casino has been fined $75,000 by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) after an audit revealed significant overstatements of iGaming promotional gaming credits (PGCs) on the BetMGM platform. This violation, spanning between October 2023 and May 2024, led to the casino understating its gross revenue by over $4.5 million and underpaying $365,161 in gross revenue taxes.

This is not the first time Borgata has been found in violation of DGE regulations regarding PGCs. In March 2023, a similar issue was uncovered where Borgata had overstated its promo credits by nearly $10 million, resulting in an underpayment of over $787,000 in taxes. This recurrence of errors has prompted the DGE to take stricter action against the casino.

The DGE’s audit report in July 10, 2024, revealed that the overstatement of PGCs in the recent case was due to a software upgrade on the BetMGM platform. This upgrade allowed for deductions of promo credits exceeding the bonuses awarded to players, breaching New Jersey’s gaming laws. Mary Jo Flaherty, the DGE Interim Director, expressed serious concerns over the repeated violations, stating, “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.”

In addition, Borgata and BetMGM are not the only operators facing penalties from the DGE. DraftKings was fined $100,000 in July 2024 for reporting errors leading to incorrect sports betting tax returns. Similarly, bet365 was ordered to pay over half a million dollars to New Jersey bettors in August 2024 for altering odds on events without notifying the DGE, which was deemed as part of a “prolonged and unacceptable course of conduct.”