New Jersey Regulators Fine Borgata $75k for Second Promo Credit Offense

The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement has issued a $75,000 fine to Borgata Atlantic City for overstating its promo credits, resulting in $365,161 in underpaid taxes. This is the second time Borgata has done this in 18 months.

Borgata Hit with $75,000 Fine

From October 2023 to May 2024, Borgata Atlantic City reported about $4.6 million in overstated promo credits. As mentioned, they underpaid their taxes by more than $365,000. 

The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement found that the overstatement resulted from a new software upgrade at the BetMGM online casino, which reported more credits than were actually given. 

Still, the NJDGE issued this response to Borgata: 

“The Division views this matter as serious. The original violation was an understatement of gross revenue by almost $10 million. This second understatement of gross revenue was in an amount of over $4.5 million. These understatements resulted in the assessment of additional taxes, tax penalties and interest of over $1.3 million.

“The fact that this conduct was repeated less than 18 months after the Division warned an additional violation of this type could result in a civil penalty is also to be considered. The Division notes that the underpayment of taxes was remedied quickly in each case, and software fixes were deployed to correct the reporting errors with regard to PGCs.”

The First Offense

While the second offense was an overstatement of about $4.6 million and more than $365,000 in underpaid taxes, the first offense was actually worse. In March 2023, the NJDGE found that Borgata overstated its promo credits by nearly $10 million and $787,000 in underpaid taxes.

Borgata quickly paid the underpaid taxes, and they were issued a warning after the first instance. At that time, the NJDGE decided “not to impose any financial penalty for this regulatory violation, and thus, only the gross revenue tax, penalty and interest are due and payable…” 

However, Borgata was warned that another offense would lead to fines. 

“Should there be future violations of the regulatory requirements associated with Internet gaming PGCs, the Division may take additional action, including monetary penalties,” the NJDGE wrote. 

Borgata Atlantic City Background

Borgata Atlantic City is a retail casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In July 2024, the brick-and-mortar casino led all casinos with about $76 million in gaming wins. 

Borgata Atlantic City is also the licensee for numerous online casinos in the state, including Borgata Casino, Party Casino, Pala Casino, BetMGM, and Scores Casino. 

BetMGM is the top online casino for Borgata, bringing in over $25.2 million in revenue in July 2024. It also just awarded the largest jackpot prize in online gambling history at more than $6.4 million.