New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement releases statement on halting Alabama baseball bets, provides additional details

The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement has released a statement regarding the decision to halt betting on Alabama baseball. Sportsbooks in New Jersey pulled bets on the Crimson Tide on Wednesday.

“On May 3, 2023, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement instructed sportsbooks to suspend wagering on all contests involving the University of Alabama baseball team and associated players, including future wagers,” the statement read. “The action was taken out of an abundance of caution after the Ohio Casino Control Commission halted bets on the University of Alabama baseball team after suspicious activity was identified in the Alabama vs. Louisiana State University game on April 30.

“Currently, New Jersey gaming operators and their independent fraud monitors have not detected any suspicious wagering in New Jersey.”

The situation got started when the Ohio Casino Control Commission reported “suspicious wagering activity” at the BetMGM sportsbook in at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati. Alabama was facing LSU that day and, despite trailing 8-1 at one point, lost the game 8-6. The Tigers were an approximately -245 favorite in the game, according to ESPN, which first reported the news.

Then, New Jersey pulled bets on Alabama baseball, becoming the second state to do so. ESPN Chalk’s David Payne Purdum reported the news, citing the ongoing investigation by Ohio regulators into the wagering on Friday’s game between Alabama and LSU.

“New Jersey sportsbooks were instructed to halt betting on college baseball games involving Alabama today, as regulators in Ohio continue investigate suspicious wagering that occurred on last Friday’s Alabama-LSU game,” Payne Purdum tweeted on Wednesday.

Alabama Athletics provided a statement to On3’s Andy Wittry Tuesday night, saying “Alabama Athletics became aware of this situation Monday evening and is actively seeking information about the report.” That came after the NCAA offered a similar response, saying it’s attempting to gather “additional information” on the matter.

“The NCAA takes sports wagering very seriously and is committed to the protection of student-athlete well-being and the integrity of competition,” the statement read, according to AL.com. “We are aware of this issue and actively gathering additional information.”

Since Alabama was playing LSU, Louisiana also received an alert about suspicious activity, according to NOLA.com. Chairman Ronnie Johns said since bets were placed in Cincinnati, they raised some red flags.

“There were a couple of bets made in Cincinnati, Ohio,” Johns said. “One was on a parlay which involved the LSU-Alabama game, and then there was another straight-up (money line) bet, I was told it was a large bet that involved LSU-Alabama.”