FanDuel Refuses to Pay Out $82,000 Bet, Sets Precedent for How It Will Handle Line Errors
Denver Broncos punter Marquette King (1) holds the balls as kicker Brandon McManus (8) kicks a field goal Pictured: Denver Broncos punter Marquette King (1) holds the balls as kicker Brandon McManus (8) kicks a field goal
- FanDuel's New Jersey sportsbook refused to pay a winning wager worth $82,000 for Sunday's Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos game.
- Citing a line error, FanDuel says the true line was supposed to be -600, instead of the erroneously posted +75000.
According to multiple reports, FanDuel's New Jersey sportsbook will not pay a bettor who wagered $110 on a +75000 in-game line available for last Sunday's Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos game.
According to FanDuel's statement, the line in question was supposed to be -600 with the Broncos driving for a game-winning field goal.
According to ESPN's David Purdum, FanDuel refused to pay out the winning wager because of the obvious line error and offered $500 and tickets to three New York Giants games as a compromise.
The bettor, now identified as Anthony Prince, declined the offer.
As part of a statement released Tuesday night, FanDuel said:
The wager in question involved an obvious pricing error inadvertently generated by our in-game pricing system. Specifically, near the end of the Sunday afternoon game between the Denver Broncos and the Oakland Raiders, the odds for the Broncos (who had the ball and were trailing by two points at the time) to win were +340 (bet $100 to win $340). The next play, the Broncos completed a 26 yard pass to position themselves to attempt a 36 yard field goal to take the lead in the final seconds of the fourth quarter, clearly positioning the Broncos as the favorite to win. At that moment in the game, our system updated the odds and erroneously posted a price of +75,000 on the Broncos to win the game (bet $100 to win $75,000) when the correct odds for the Broncos to win the game at that point in time were -600 (i.e., bet $600 to win $100).
Interestingly, Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook manager John Murray told VSiN's Mitch Moss that his sportsbook would have ultimately paid out the wager:
Strong conversation with @vegasmurray this morning on @VSiNLive. He told us tickets go as written at the @LVSuperBook. They would've paid the bettor $82,000 when the Broncos beat the Raiders. The bettor had Denver 750/1 in-play when the real odds were -600.
— Mitch Moss (@MitchMossRadio) September 19, 2018
While FanDuel refusing to pay out the wager may seem unfair to those new to legalized sports betting, it's par for the course among most offshore sportsbooks.
If you bet into a clear line error, your wager is likely to get canceled, and you shouldn't expect an offer of $500 in cash and NFL tickets for your troubles, either.
In fact, bettors with reputations as "shot takers" — those who consistently bet obvious line errors — will often find themselves no longer welcome at most offshore shops.
As legalized sports betting continues to pick up steam across the country, expect more growing pains similar to those FanDuel experienced on Sunday afternoon.
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