When I changed the “FREE PLAY” setting in Coin Options to on, the “ONLINE” text is in the usual position and not obstructing the “FREE PLAY” text as seen here:
The only part where the “ONLINE” test goes out of whack is if you have “FREE PLAY” turned off, which is what happened in your case.
When DDR 2014 came out to the US, it was in a location test state, and if the machines weren’t on “FREE PLAY”, the “ONLINE” text goes out of whack. This is seen through the attract mode of DDR 2014 in this video (it has the 2015 update, but we also have the same version. The “ONLINE” text should be on the bottom right of the CRT as seen on the attract mode):
Other than that, it has no major effects on gameplay.