Sports betting giant capitulates, pays $82k on erroneous bet slip.
The universal law of gambling, where technology is concerned, is that a “malfunction voids all pays”. When a slot machine accidentally displays a jackpot win, the player doesn’t get the money. When the ball bounces out of the roulette wheel, all bets are void. A misdeal in blackjack will authorize no payouts. No matter who’s fault it is, the player always seems to be the victim.
For once, that’s not the case.
Last week, the headlines were lit up all over the betting world. For a mere 18 seconds, a set of odds on the Denver Broncos vs. Oakland Raiders Week-2 NFL game were displayed incorrectly at FanDuel. Not just incorrectly, but exorbitantly so. Only a dozen bettors were observant and quick enough to place a bet on those odds, including one Anthony Prince of Newark, New Jersey.
$110 Bet at 750-to-1 Wins $82,000
Mr. Prince placed a $110 bet on the Broncos to make a closing field that would win them the game. It was only a 36-yarder—an easy mark for Denver’s field goal kicker, Brandon McManus. Yet inexplicably, FanDuel’s computers posted the odds at 750 to 1.
With 10 seconds remaining, McManus proved his worth, booting the football straight through the uprights for the 20-19 win that Prince had so hoped for. With his bet slip in hand, valued at more than $82,000, he headed for the cashier window at The Meadowlands.
Not surprisingly, Mr. Prince was not congratulated. He was not given a pile of cash, or a check for the total. Instead, he was greeted with a simple, ‘No‘. He was told that the odds were an obvious error—a malfunction in the system—and that he would not receive the winnings displayed on the slip.
Online Sports Betting Giant Capitulates, Pays All Winnings on Inflated Odds
Clearly, FanDuel did not want to pay such a grievous amount, knowing that it was based on a technical error. Had the bet been placed at the appropriate odds, Mr. Prince would only be cashing in for around $18. So, at first, the company refused to pay the winnings to Mr. Prince, or the other 11 bettors who were quick enough to take those fantastic odds.
Most companies would have stuck to their guns on this. The ‘malfunction voids all pays‘ rule is one that gambling operators have used for decades, much to the chagrin of every gambler who’s been on the wrong side of that coin. But after a few days’ consideration, FanDuel relented.
After consulting with state regulators, the company issued this statement on Thursday:
“Above all else, sports betting is supposed to be fun. As a result of a pricing error this weekend, it wasn’t for some of our customers.
“A 36-yard field goal has approximately an 85 percent chance of success, so the astronomical odds offered on something highly likely to occur was very obviously a pricing error. These kinds of issues are rare, but they do happen. We want sports betting to be fun. So, this one’s on the house. We are paying out these erroneous tickets and wish the lucky customers well.”
A Kind Gesture in an Unkind Gambling World
There’s no question as to whether FanDuel chose to deliver those winnings, or was forced to do so by the state. Gambling regulators always side with the operator in the case of “palps”, a term commonly used to describe “palpable errors” such as this one.
No, FanDuel didn’t have to pay out all those slips, but they did it anyway. Chances are, regulators did recommend it, not by law, but to earn positive points on their reputation as their live and online sports betting market is still in its infantile stages. Paying the slip wouldn’t hurt FanDuel’s wallet, but it would gain them cheers from the collective betting community.
For the time begin, setting a good example that doesn’t leave a bad taste in the mouth of bettors is paramount. I’d be willing to bet (at more reasonable odds) that if this kind of thing happens a few years from now, the argument will be finalized with a staunch ‘malfunction voids all pays‘. But for now at least, everyone is happy.
