The PlayUp New Jersey sportsbook is no longer licensed to accept deposits or bets, the Division of Gaming Enforcement announced Thursday.
Global CEO Daniel Simic told employees Wednesday evening the website had to be put into maintenance mode, according to a message reviewed by Legal Sports Report. Its Colorado sportsbook is still live as of 3:45 pm Eastern Thursday.
“Guys, NJDGE require me to shut the site down and put a maintenance page up. urgently,” CEO Daniel Simic said in the Wednesday message.
Source: PlayUp has not paid NJ withdrawals
The NJ sports betting site said full access is still available to process withdrawals and all pending wagers will be honored. But PlayUp has not paid a withdrawal in nearly a month, a former PlayUp executive told LSR.
There are reportedly 30 withdrawals totaling $173,931 pending since June 25.
The company typically processed withdrawals in 48 hours previously.
Along with that, the letter from NJDGE Director David Rebuck mentioned PlayUp not sending requested financial information regarding employee taxes, outstanding invoices to the DGE and a “significantly reduced” employee head count in New Jersey.
PlayUp US near sale, CEO said
Shutting down the website comes at a bad time for the company, which is close to a sale of its US business, CEO Daniel Simic told LSR last week.
The sale is reportedly to a listed entity and was supposed to close on June 30.
Multiple employees were laid off June 30, reportedly with little to no notice, with many allegedly unpaid for at least a month’s worth of work.
Could sale fall through again?
This would be the third failed sale for PlayUp if these ongoing issues cause the pending offer to falter.
PlayUp saw a $450 million offer from FTX fall through in late 2021, with lawsuits still playing out about why exactly that happened.
Another acquisition for $350 million by a SPAC looking to take the sportsbook public in the US dissolved after PlayUp failed to present all the necessary documentation in time.
The sportsbook was also going to be denied an Ohio sports betting license before it agreed to withdraw after regulators found the company accepted prohibited wagers on its Slots+ product in the state. It was fined $120,000 and cannot apply for a gaming license in Ohio for four years.
