Florida Man Busted for Proxy Betting in New Jersey

Peter LewisPeter Lewis | March 22, 2022
Florida Man Busted for Proxy Betting in New Jersey

You know things are tough for people in the sunshine state this time of year, as the people of Florida would love to be placing sports wagers on March Madness, the NFL free agency, NBA and so much more. Well, one person decided to try and get sneaky and he’s paying the consequences. That’s because the news has come in of a Florida man busted for proxy betting in New Jersey.

If you’re unfamiliar with proxy betting, it’s essentially when you create an account or place bets and have someone do it in your name. This happened in New Jersey, with a Florida man setting up his account and then having someone else check out the different odds for him and then place the wagers once he has been given the green light. As soon as this was recognized, it was shut down.

According to a report, the big sportsbook DraftKings has been fined a head-turning $150,000 by New Jersey officials for allowing this to happen. New Jersey has a no-tolerance policy when it comes to proxy betting. And while the Florida man and his friend were able to get away with things for a little while, this latest news has proven to be a fresh reminder for everyone out there that you can get caught.

“We strive to continuously improve our systems to detect violations of our terms of use,” DraftKings said in a statement to The Associated Press last week when news of the fine was made public. “In this instance, our systems failed to detect the violation of our terms of use. We have taken corrective action to address that.”

Proxy betting continues to be popular around the country

As you might have been able to guess, proxy betting continues to be popular around the country, especially where sports betting hasn’t been made legal yet. This of course includes Florida, Texas and California. These are three of the biggest states in the country when it comes to sports teams and popularity, yet betting hasn’t been given the green light yet.

Because of this, people are trying to find different ways to make their bets and to try and not get caught. What they’ll often do is create accounts through a friend in a different state, continue to check out odds and then communicate through them which bets to make. This is what the Florida man tried to do multiple times, and he was also making some head-turning bets of thousands of dollars.

He was busted, however, after signing into his account from Florida, and then someone signing into that same account in New Jersey only a few minutes later. With this occurring, it was a clear and obvious red flag for the case centers to identify. The man’s account was then suspended for use because he continued to not follow the rules. It was clear he and DraftKings also had a close relationship.

With all of this occurring, New Jersey decided enough was enough and they needed to penalize DraftKings as well. Again, this is going to serve as a reminder to other companies that they need to be more diligent in preventing this from happening. At the same time, they also can’t give special treatment to their users in cases like this. If they do, then things will keep getting out of hand.

More illegal bets are expected after the Tom Brady return

As you might have been able to guess, more illegal bets are expected after the Tom Brady return news arrived. For less than two months, the Super Bowl-winning quarterback was retired, but he stunned countless people by announcing earlier this month that he’s going to return to the Bucs next season. With this, the team’s Super Bowl odds have skyrocketed for next year.

“These past two months I’ve realized my place is still on the field and not in the stands,” Brady posted on his Twitter account to let fans know he’s returning. “That time will come. But it’s not now. I love my teammates, and I love my supportive family. They make it all possible. I’m coming back for my 23rd season in Tampa. Unfinished business.”

While the Buffalo Bills remain slight favorites leading up to the start of the season this fall, don’t sleep on Tampa Bay. Whenever Brady is on the field, he makes a squad that much better. He’ll go down as the greatest player of all time, as his seven Super Bowl rings stand alone at the top. It’s going to be tough for anyone to try and ever match that.

For next season, the expectation is that the Bucs will be in a prime position to try and win another title. They did so with Brady at the helm two seasons ago. Because of all the excitement surrounding Brady, people in Florida are rushing to try and bet. With many proxy bets expected too, we could see more news of potential fines being levied out in the near future too.

Peter Lewis

Peter Lewis Jr. comes from Mississippi where he and his family spend their days discussing college football and basketball. He's written sports journalism for years after studying journalism at a local university.