{"id":254293,"date":"2023-01-18T13:18:51","date_gmt":"2023-01-18T19:18:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=254293"},"modified":"2023-02-12T18:53:36","modified_gmt":"2023-02-13T00:53:36","slug":"ohio-casino-control-commission-approves-150k-fine-against-caesars-sportsbook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ohio-casino-control-commission-approves-150k-fine-against-caesars-sportsbook\/","title":{"rendered":"Ohio Casino Control Commission Approves $150K Fine Against Caesars Sportsbook"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) approved a $150K fine for Caesars Sportsbook at its monthly meeting Wednesday. That’s after the regulatory body found the sports betting operator failed to comply with state regulations in ads for its site.<\/p>\n

\"Caesars\"<\/a>
Caesars executives Jeff Hendricks (left at podium) and Eric Hession (right) appear before the Ohio Casino Control Commission during its Wednesday meeting in Columbus. The commission fined Caesars Sportsbook $150K for violating sports betting advertising standards. (Image: Casino.org)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Caesars was one of three operators<\/a> to receive a notice of violation from the OCCC on January 5. The commission said Caesars\u2019 ads failed to clearly show \u201ca message designed to prevent problem gambling,\u201d and did not include a phone number for an approved hotline. Also, the ads violated state guidelines for promoting free or risk-free bets when users must lose or offer their own money first.<\/p>\n

DraftKings and BetMGM were the other operators cited earlier this month.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The OCCC put sports betting operators on notice<\/a> last month before the January 1 launch, saying they needed to do a better job in promoting RG practices. They warned that operators faced fines for not including a phone number, or for making the RG messaging impossible to read or understand.<\/p>\n

Caesars Apologizes for Violation<\/h2>\n

Caesars had the option of requesting a hearing in the matter but waived that right.<\/p>\n

Jeff Hendricks, the regulatory and compliance senior vice president for Caesars Entertainment, and Eric Hession, president of Caesars Digital, spoke at Wednesday\u2019s meeting in Columbus and said the company takes responsibility for the ads, which were posted by a third-party affiliate marketer.<\/p>\n

We have various provisions that require a marketing affiliate to only use content that has been previously approved by Caesars Sportsbook,\u201d Hendricks said. \u201cIn this instance, the affiliate did not follow those procedures. We believe that if they had the content, they would have had the perfect disclaimer and it would not have referenced free back content.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Hession told the commission that Caesars terminated its national affiliate agreement with the third-party firm.<\/p>\n

Neither Hendricks nor Hession mentioned the name of the affiliate during their remarks to the OCCC. The notice of violation sent earlier this month included examples of ads that were part of social media posts by Dimers.com. In those examples, the copy posted by Dimers included the term “free bets” if someone registered and made a $20 deposit into a new Caesars account.<\/p>\n

The social media posts included graphics that appear to be designed by Caesars. The RG verbiage in those appears at the very bottom of those graphics in a very, very small type size. That was the kind of violation the commission warned operators about in the Dec. 23 letter.<\/p>\n

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It would appear that the violation may stem (at least the free\/risk-free portion) from social media posts made by the affiliate that then included the ad. See below. pic.twitter.com\/fXdOQd9vJ4<\/a><\/p>\n

— Steve Bittenbender (@CasinoOrgSteveB) January 18, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n