Earlier this week, officials at the New Jersey Department of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) revoked PlayUp’s rights’ to accept wagers in the Garden State. The move comes after PlayUp officials failed to provide requested financial information to the DGE in the wake of missing a June 29. It’s an unusually severe move by New Jersey regulators that suggests some very serious problems at PlayUp.
PlayUp’s troubles were made visible on Wednesday night when the sportsbook’s New Jersey site was put into “maintenance mode”. While in maintenance mode, PlayUp is allegedly still processing withdrawals and payments, but whether or not that’s actually happening is far from clear. According to a report on Legal Sports Report (LSR), the company has not paid out its customers (or apparently staff, too) since then end of June. LSR goes on to report that the company has not paid nearly 30 withdrawals totaling $173,931 since June 29.
Prior to pulling PlayUp’s license, DGE had requested financial information from the bookmaker regarding its solvency. When PlayUp failed to produce the records, the DGE took serious action. “The Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) issued a letter order yesterday revoking the transactional waivers that had allowed PlayUp to conduct sports wagering in New Jersey. Patrons will be able to access to their funds and can withdraw them from the site. Additionally, PlayUp is obligated to pay out any pending wagers, while no new wagers can be accepted,” a DGE spokesperson explained to SBC Americas.
PlayUp’s troubles could hardly have come at a worse time for the company as it was in the process of being sold as a publicly traded company. That deal appears to be on hold now as PlayUp works through its current crisis in New Jersey.