The powerhouse sports betting provider, DraftKings, find themselves embroiled in controversy. A report recently surfaced that a DraftKings VIP customer was allowed to violate New Jersey sports betting laws by physically being outside of New Jersey while placing a sports bet.
The DraftKings Sportsbook director, Johnny Avello, is the DraftKings employee in the hot seat. Allegedly, it was Avello had an under the radar agreement with a DraftKings VIP customer. According to a source with knowledge about the accusations said on Friday that the VIP customer is making some wild claims.
The customer is asserting that he did nothing wrong and made an arrangement with Avello that allowed him to vote by proxy. Everyone with DraftKings claims that no such arrangement was ever made.
Another source with the New Jersey Gaming Commission said, “This may not seem like it isn’t such a big deal, but if it’s proven to be true, it’s a sports betting license violation, so it’s very serious.”
DraftKings Denies the Accusation
An unnamed spokesperson with DraftKings released a statement late Friday that read in part, “We never authorized the customer in question to engage in proxy betting. Any claim by this customer that he received a verbal agreement from Johnny Avello to place out of state wagers on his New Jersey mobile account through a proxy is patently false.”
A New Jersey gaming official who wants to be anonymous said, “These allegations are very disturbing, and if it turns out that these claims are facts, it will be a very serious issue, with real time ramifications.”
The official went on to explain, “All of gaming is regulated and monitored at all times, people just can not under any circumstances just make their own rules and violate the laws. We will under no circumstances tolerate that type of violation.”
Although the details of what went on are a bit hazy at this time, DraftKings just said there was no handshake between the two parties. Sports betting analysts Graham Muir, who is based in Jersey
City, said that statement leaves a lot of room for speculation and is not a real denial.
DraftKings Has Not Denied The Two Know Each Other
Muir added, “I’ve been watching this situation very closely. DraftKings is not denying that the customer and Avello know each other. So this person just picked the name out of the air? It seems highly unlikely that the customer said he had Avello’s permission when it’s a complete lie. That makes no sense.”
DraftKings said late Friday, “The allegations are false, but in order to do our due diligence, we are in the process of conducting an internal investigation.”
A huge part of this issue is that the customer claims that DraftKings illegally froze his account for three weeks after the bet was placed. He also alleges that DraftKings owes him over $3 million as a result of that bet. Muir said this could all get very sticky if it’s not resolved soon,
I’m sure we will see all types of lawsuits as a result.
