Sudden withdrawals

Two overseas sportsbook operators, Bookmaker.eu and BetOnline.ag, are withdrawing from the gambling market in New Jersey. The companies did not really provide an explanation for this sudden move.

People in New Jersey with accounts on the two platforms have been told to withdraw all funds

New Jersey has had a lot of success since sports betting became legal, particularly with mobile sportsbooks. About 85% of all sports bets made in the state come through mobile sources. NJ has even managed to bypass Nevada in a monthly period in terms of sports betting handle and revenue. 

People in New Jersey with accounts on the two platforms have been told to withdraw all funds as soon as they can.

Users informed

BetOnline users were told in advance about the pending closure of the platform. The operator informed in a message that “per our Terms and Conditions, BetOnline does not accept customers from New Jersey and your account has been closed.”

Any wagers that are pending have been canceled and the stakes refunded. The deadline to withdraw funds from the platform is September 30, 2019.

Bookmaker.eu is taking a similar stance. The Costa Rica-based company is sending users a similar message to withdraw funds as soon as possible. 

Potential reasons for shutdowns

No concrete explanations were given by the two platforms about their withdrawals. The Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) in New Jersey has been clamping down on offshore sports betting operators as of late, which may be a contributing factor. 

This came after New Jersey made sports betting legal in June 2018. It has since been targeting operators and those entities promoting offshore platforms. 

The presence of online operations also sees some of the sportsbook revenues going towards the state in the form of taxes, helping numerous good causes.

Long presence in the market

Both Bookmaker and BetOnline have been in the sports betting sector for many years. They were thriving in the United States market before the ban on online gambling came into force in 2006 through the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). 

While many platforms decided to shut down their operations after the passage of this act, Bookmaker and BetOnline continued to operate from overseas. Despite not being authorized, there is little the state regulators can do to stop these offshore operations.