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A sports bettor in Virginia had his $200,000+ winnings revoked after his sportsbook reported an error with the odds. High school teacher Kris Benton placed a trio of parlays on the Vietnam vs. Netherlands Women’s World Cup match and hit all three to land a massive payout.
Those parlays each included a “corner kick” wager, while being paired with something else. Each of the parlays was listed at +6600 odds.
Benton celebrated the payouts, which were graded by the sportsbook as wins, but his laughter would soon turn to tears. When he went to withdraw the money, he was greeted with a dreadful message from BetMGM which noted that he wouldn’t be receiving his winnings.
After the fact, the sports wagering company looked at the odds, which they deemed to be incorrect according to Darren Rovell. Specifically, it said the “corner kick” odds didn’t match the market, which again, were a part of all three parlays.
The sportsbook voided his $3,250 worth of bets, though they didn’t say what the actual lines should’ve been.
It’s reasonable to believe that BetMGM’s claims were true as the Netherlands entered the matchup as huge favorites, which would lead one to believe they should’ve been huge corner kick favorites, too.
The odds didn’t reflect that given +6600 lines.
Here’s where it gets tricky, though.
The company has a clause, which it sent to Benton, stating that the sportsbook could void bets that “are materially different from those available in the general betting market for a given event at the time the wager was placed.”
Essentially, if the odds at other sportsbooks vastly differ from those on BetMGM, they can make a case that the value was an “obvious error.” Unfortunately for the betting app, not many other legal betting companies even listed the “corner kick” odds.
Rovell reports that of the three main competitors, not one of FanDuel, DraftKings, and Caesars has a market for corner kicks posted for the Women’s World Cup.
With no comparison, it’s reasonable to say that BetMGM has no case in saying it was an obvious mistake.
But wait, there’s more. A second clause in the terms that says if “odds are clearly incorrect given the probability of the event occurring,” the company could also void bets.
That’s certainly open to interpretation.
Sports betting followers were quick to comment on the bizarre story online. Here’s what they had to say.
It’s not the bettor’s fault if they’re not doing their job properly. They certainly wouldn’t give the public back their money under any circumstance if it was graded a loser.
— Dana Lane (@DanaLaneSports) August 9, 2023
The majority sided with the soccer bettor.
They make hundred of millions of dollars and couldn’t let one bet slide that they screwed up on. That’s bad business
— dramabeats24 (@DjDroc24) August 9, 2023
Most asked if the book would’ve returned the money had the bet failed to hit.
Would they have returned the bets had it loss?
— Full Slate Podcast (@Full_Slate_Pod) August 10, 2023
Can bettors report the same mistakes when they lose?
Did I bet 1000? I hit zero too often, I meant 1.. obvious error, can I have my 999 back….NO
— John Stewart (@jhSTEW) August 9, 2023
Even if the line was wrong, this follower says BetMGM should at least pay out for the adjusted odds.
The line was obviously way wrong but they should still at least pay out what it should have been, they probably owe him ~1,000
— Despicable Me (@J_C25) August 9, 2023
According to the report, Benton hasn’t filed a complaint with BetMGM.