FanDuel Fined for Accepting Bets on Pre-Recorded PFL Fights

FanDuel has been fined $2,000 by New Jersey gambling regulators after taking bets on pre-recorded fights. They were also forced to pay out more than $230,000 in winnings. The incident occurred on April 1 this year when the company accepted wagers on Professional Fighters League (PFL) matches that had taken place a week earlier on March 25.

Miscommunication Over Tape-Delayed PFL Fights Costs FanDuel $231,094 in Winnings

The confusion stemmed from a PFL Challengers series event that aired on Fubo TV on tape delay. FanDuel marketed these fights as live events and 34 bettors placed bets totaling $190,904. It was not until the International Betting Integrity Association flagged the suspicious activity that FanDuel realized the mistake. The company then settled the bets and paid out $231,094 in winnings, reported the Associated Press.

According to a letter from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE), FanDuel’s data-feed providers did not communicate to the company that the event was pre-recorded. As such, FanDuel’s traders established betting markets based on information received directly from the PFL without verifying that it was actually happening live. The state required FanDuel to improve its internal controls so as to prevent future occurrences of this nature.

Other New Jersey Sportsbooks Also Faced Fines for Betting Mistakes

This is not an isolated case for New Jersey’s sports betting industry either. Last year Kambi Group and Rush Street Interactive were each fined $1,000 for accepting bets on a soccer match that had already taken place. In that instance, a Kambi trader mistakenly put in the start date of the game which allowed post-event wagering.

DraftKings — another major sportsbook operator — was also fined $100,000 last week for reporting inaccurate betting data to the state. Such repeated blunders underscore just how difficult it can be for companies involved with sports gambling to consistently get things right.

FanDuel’s slip-up highlights why robust internal controls and verification protocols are necessary within the sports betting space. As sports wagering continues to expand, so too does the need for maintaining the integrity of betting markets. 

By updating its internal controls in response to this incident, FanDuel is taking steps toward preventing future errors like these from happening again. In other FanDuel news, in April 2024, the sports betting operator led the US sports betting market with a 47.6% share, followed by DraftKings at 36.4%, according to JMP Securities. Together, the two companies held 84% of the market, reaffirming their dominance in the industry.