Caesars Fined $15K for Soliciting Self-Excluded Gamblers

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (Associated Press) - New Jersey casino regulators have fined the local Internet gambling arm of Caesars Entertainment $15,000 for soliciting gamblers who signed up for a self-exclusion list that is supposed to prevent them from betting.

The state's Gaming Enforcement Division disclosed the fine Tuesday against Caesars Interactive Entertainment New Jersey.

The state charged in April that the company allowed self-excluded gamblers to create Internet gambling accounts and allowed five of them to actually place online bets. It also claimed Caesars sent marketing material to 231 self-excluded gamblers, soliciting their business.

The company paid a $10,000 fine for a similar infraction last year.

Regarding the fine announced Tuesday, company spokesman Seth Palansky said Caesars Interactive actually turned itself in to regulators once it realized it had erred.

"We self-reported this error to the DGE after we were notified by our third-party provider a lapse in procedure occurred," Palansky said. "We regret the error, and apologize to those affected by it. We accept the punishment and will work more diligently to avoid a repeat mistake."