New Jersey slaps $30K penalty on Rush Street Interactive for underage online bets

New Jersey gambling regulators have slapped their first penalty, of $30,000, on Rush Street Interactive, which is running playsugarhouse.com, for allowing underage internet gambling. The state Division of Gaming Enforcement said that the website did not record accurately the users’ birthdates between November 2016 and January 2018 because of a software defect. The bug has been rectified.

As a result of the defect, 13 players between the ages of 18 and 20 created 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.”