CIE’s WSOP.com Fined For Soliciting Problem Gamblers

Home » Poker News » CIE’s WSOP.com Fined For Soliciting Problem Gamblers

Wednesday, November 12th, 2014 | Written by Adam Brown

Caesars Interactive Entertainment’s WSOP.com has become the first online gambling site in New Jersey to receive a reprimand from the Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) for running afoul of state gaming regulations. Between February 16th and May 28th, Caesars Interactive emailed marketing materials to more than 250 problem gamblers who had self-excluded themselves from gambling games, and by October 6th a complaint was filed against Caesars, which was later signed by DGE Director David Rebuck.

Caesars Interactive Entertainment has now been fined $10,000 for violating New Jersey’s self-exemption laws, and responding to the incident, Seth Palansky, vice president of communications for Caesars Interactive, said the problem was caused by a glitch in its system. Talking to the Press of Atlantic City, Palansky explained:

“The issue that caused our system to inadvertently target these patrons has been fixed and we have had no incidents since. We can assure the public that this lapse on our part was not an intentional targeting of these patrons, but simply a back-end software issue that failed to properly scrub our database before certain mailings.”

Self-Exclusion Bans

In compliance with New Jersey’s online gambling laws, Caesars website WSOP.com offers players the option to impose either a temporary or permanent ban on themselves. While the suspension during a temporary ban period can last up to five months, a permanent ban from WSOP.com is irrevocable and will result in the player being permanently banned from all Caesars online and land-based casinos.

The operator is also prohibited from soliciting those self-excluded players on the list, and as a Caesars Interactive statement explains:

“Once a player [permanently] self-excludes, WSOP.com will block his account. Any new accounts he attempts to open will also be blocked as soon as they are detected. In addition, WSOP.com will take all reasonable measures to make sure the player does not receive any promotional material during this time.”

Caesars Self-reported Incident To DGE

Following promotional materials being sent out to self-excluded players, Caesars Interactive VP of communications, Seth Palansky, said the company reported the problem to regulators as soon as it was discovered, before moving to fix the glitch in order to avoid future problems. Palansky also added that Caesars has since fixed the issue that caused its system to inadvertently target self-excluded customers, and added that the company regrets “the harm this incident may have caused.”

Regulation Working Effectively

Since online gambling was regulated in the US about a year and a half ago, there have been no major incidents reported concerning online gambling, be it underage gambling, problem gamblers playing, or gamblers outside of legalized states being able to create an online account. In May, however, Caesars Interactive did receive a $3,000 fine for failing to clearly include the mandatory “1-800-GAMBLER” compulsive gambling hotline telephone number on billboards advertising its online gambling product.

This latest issue related to self-excluded gamblers therefore represents the first incident of its kind in the Garden State. It also provides a good example of a regulated industry working effectively as Caesars realized its mistake, and reported the issue to the proper authorities, which subsequently fined them. Without online gambling regulation in place, an operator may not even offer a self-exclusion option to its customers, let alone report themselves to some powerless organization somewhere.

Caesars Interactive Entertainment would also have felt compelled to report its discovery to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, because regulation ensures gaming operators take problem gambling seriously, and to ignore such a problem would risk endangering its online gambling license with the state.

WSOP.com In New Jersey

Caesars Interactive operates in separate WSOP.com sites in both Nevada and New Jersey. In Nevada, WSOP.com continues to dominate the Silver State’s small online poker market, and according to PokerScout currently has a seven day average of 100 cash game players, compared to Ultimate Poker with 60 players, and Real Gaming with just one player.

In New Jersey, Borgata and Caesars Interactive (888/WSOP) continue to share the spoils of the state’s online poker industry fairly evenly, and currently Party Borgata (NJ) has an average of 130 cash game players, compared to WSOP with 110 players, and a third placed All American Network a long way back with just 60 players.

PokerStars may also be allowed to enter New Jersey’s online gambling market in the near future, and as State Sen. Ray Lesniak commented recently: “It’s going to be soon and it’s going to be huge. PokerStars is going to make a huge investment in Atlantic City, not just in Internet gaming but in their brand and in bringing attractions to Atlantic City.”