Casino and hospitality company Hard Rock International has been fined by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement for compliance failures. Apparently, the casino business has forgotten to inform the regulator about the employment of a new marketing executive.
Hard Rock International operates Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City, which was built on the site of the former Trump Taj Mahal Hotel & Casino; it opened its doors on June 27th. The establishment was the third highest grossing property in Atlantic City in the first months of its operations.
A $5,000 fine was imposed to Hard Rock by the regulator in October, local media outlets report. The failure to file a petition detailing the employment of a new marketing executive is in direct violation of the Casino Control Act.
The executive in question, Mann Lien, was appointed Hard Rock Atlantic City’s Vice President of Asian Marketing on July 9, but the regulator was notified about the developments only on October 22. The fine was imposed exactly a week later, on October 29, with Hard Rock filing a petition for a qualification waiver for Lien the next day.
“In recognition of the seriousness of its failures”, as company representatives put it, Hard Rock has agreed to pay the fine, but has declined to issue any public statements on the matter regardless.
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City is one of the few NJ properties still not offering sports betting on its premises. In retrospect, New Jersey was the second U.S. state to legalize sports betting following the PASPA overturn, with Borgata AC and Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport opening first legal sportsbooks on June 14.
Although it was originally thought that the company might be unable to offer sports betting services due to its naming rights contract with the Miami Dolphins’ home stadium, it was revealed in October that Hard Rock had previously applied for a license with the Division of Gaming Enforcement.
Anticipating the operations yet to come, Hard Rock also partnered with Gaming Innovation Group in October. The deal is to see GiG provide a multi-channel, mobile-friendly sportsbook to the casino giant. In order to do that, however, the operator will need to first obtain a sports betting certification by the New Jersey regulatory body. In early October, GiG secured a UKGC license.
In the words of GiG's director of sports, Endre Nesset:
“We have spent the past two years developing sports betting products with the latest technology to ensure the operator has all the tools they need to manage risk, create their own markets and a front-end solution which offers the best user experience. Couple this with our ability to solve problems using innovation with Hard Rock’s product vision for the U.S., we are going to be a force to be reckoned with.”
The online sportsbook will have gone live by year-end and will feature risk management, data, and odds.
Source:
“Hard Rock Fined by Division of Gaming Enforcement”, pressofatlanticcity.com, November 2nd, 2018.