Ohio Penalizes DraftKings for Accepting Prohibited Wagers and Payment Methods

Ohio was among the states that banned college player prop betting amid integrity and harassment concerns. Despite the recent prohibition, DraftKings seems to have offered such products past the prohibition date, incurring a six-figure penalty.

DraftKings Was Penalized for Accepting College Player Prop Bets  

On Wednesday, the Ohio Casino Control Commission approved a settlement totaling $425,000 for the sports betting giant after it understood that DraftKings had violated its rules. Only one of two recorded breaches was related to college player prop bets, while the other was because the operator allowed players to fuel their accounts via an unpermitted method.

The college prop betting violations occurred between March 14 and March 19 this year, which was after the Buckeye State had prohibited such offerings. The regulator understood that DraftKings accepted an undisclosed number of bets during that period, despite a previous warning.

According to the Ohio Casino Control Commission, the prohibition of NCAA player proposition wagers had been discussed with DraftKings prior to its enactment. As a result, the operator should have known that such wagers are no longer prohibited and should have ensured that similar products do not appear on its website.

Thomas Stickrath, chair of the commission, reiterated his team’s commitment to ensuring that local sportsbooks are compliant with the state’s gaming laws. Because of that, he vowed to take action when necessary to maintain the industry’s integrity and protect players from harm.

The commission added that DraftKings cooperated with the authority and signed the settlement agreement without arguing. It also made sure to disable the unlawful offerings as soon as possible and returned all non-winning bets to the customers.

DraftKings Disabled the Unpermitted Payment Method

In the meantime, DraftKings also allowed its online customers to make deposits via an unpermitted payyment method without the commission’s approval. The Ohio Casino Control Commission elaborated that the company allowed players to use cash deposits at non-gaming retail locations to charge their accounts.

As it turns out, the operator accepted 40,985 such deposits for a total of $2.54 million between January 1, 2023, and March 5, 2024.

For context, Ohio allows players to fuel their accounts with cash only at designated and officially approved locations.

DraftKings made sure to disable the unauthorized cash deposits once the matter had been brought up. Company representatives promised that the operator has taken measures to ensure that it doesn’t repeat its mistakes. To that end, the company reviewed its deposit methods and implemented an alert system that would notify it if a deposit is made via an unapproved method.