Hard Rock Bet Accidentally Gives $1.7 Million to Online Players, Lets Them Keep It
Posted on: June 30, 2025, 08:54h.
Last updated on: June 30, 2025, 11:17h.
- Hard Rock Bet accidentally paid 353 Live Trivia players $5,000 each
- The total payout was to be $5,000, or $14.16 a player
- Hard Rock Bet’s iGaming platform operates only in New Jersey
Hard Rock Bet runs a weekly free-to-play online trivia game where players can win a share of a $5,000 prize pool. During last week’s game, everyone was a winner.
Each Wednesday this summer, the Hard Rock Bet online casino in New Jersey allows its iGaming customers to answer 10 trivia questions to “parlay their trivia knowledge into cash prizes.” Through July, the weekly prize pool is $5,000, with special weeks, like this Wednesday’s “Epic Moments” edition with a $10K pool, that come with richer prizes.
Last week’s game, however, will be the richest Live Trivia payout after Hard Rock Bet accidentally made all 353 winners of the 10-question challenge $5,000 winners. Instead of players winning what should have been $14.16, each was credited with $5,000. The total payout amounted to $1,765,000.
Officials with Hard Rock Bet, the online gaming unit owned by Hard Rock International, said the company quickly realized the error but opted to let the players keep the funds instead of taking it back.
Payouts Stand
In a statement on the massive error, Hard Rock Bet said its New Jersey online trivia players would retain their $5,000 prizes.
“When made aware of the incorrect Live Trivia payouts, our response was quick and deliberate: the awards stand. While others may have tried to claw back the $5,000 awards — Hard Rock Bet wants to put our customers first wherever possible, not just when it’s convenient,” said Hard Rock Bet President Matt Primeaux.
Hard Rock Bet Casino is determined to provide our players with a simple, fair, and transparent entertainment experience, not one filled with terms and conditions, asterisks, and promotions that can never fully be won,” Primeaux added.
Hard Rock, owned and operated by the Seminole Tribe of Florida, only operates iGaming in New Jersey through an online gaming license tethered to its brick-and-mortar Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City. Live Trivia was announced in April through a partnership with Playtech.
The Live Trivia game show that brought Christmas in June to hundreds of online casino players in New Jersey debuted on May 7. Playtech is a vendor of Hard Rock Bet that additionally provides the online casino with slots, card games, table games, and live dealer offerings.
Playtech and Hard Rock Digital have been partners since 2023.
Bounty Increases
Despite taking the $1.765 million hit, Hard Rock Bet is only upping its Live Trivia prize pool this week. Along with Wednesday’s special “Epic Moments” game, Live Trivia will hold a July 4 holiday promo with a $25K prize fund.
“Independence Day Trivia” will start live at 8 pm EST on Friday. Once the game begins, players have approximately seven seconds to choose their answer to the question posed. The host then reveals the correct answer and proceeds to the next question.
Players who answer the most questions correctly share the prize pool, which typically equates to around $10 to $30. Since nothing is stopping a player from quickly googling an answer, there are usually many players who get all 10 questions right.
Live Trivia operates solely on the Hard Rock Bet app within New Jersey. The Hard Rock Bet online sportsbook is live in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, and Virginia.
Last Comments ( 3 )
An honest casino? No way
I feel like this put's the other companies that have been trying to claw back money any chance they get to shame, makes me think highly of the Seminoles and Hard Rock.
Agree, Jeff. Good publicity, for sure.