FanDuel won’t pay winning NFL sports bet worth $82,500 due to glitch.
Since the dawn of computer technology, we’ve had to deal with glitches. Human error is a lot more common, but even a computer system can malfunction, if not break down entirely. Have you ever paid a bill through an online bank account, only to find out next month that you owe double because the payment never came out? I have—twice. And I can’t tell you that according to the billing department, it’s your fault, not the bank’s.
Glitches happen every day, and when they involve money, it can be a real pain in the you-know-what. A
New Jersey man, Anthony Prince, now knows this better than anyone. After placing and winning a wager on DFS and sports betting giant FanDuel, his payout is being refused due to a glitch in the system that accidentally posted incorrect odds.
FanDuel Won’t Pay Winning NFL Sports Bet
On Sunday, the NFL’s Denver Broncos played the Los Angeles Raiders. Prior to the game, FanDuel had the Broncos destined to defeat the Raiders with odds of 1 to 6 (bet $600 to win $100). But then, for a brief moment, the odds changed to a flabbergasting 750 to 1 (Bet $100 to win $75,000).
Anthony Prince was viewing the odds at just the right moment, and saw the opportunity of a lifetime. Just as anyone else would have done if they’d caught site of it, he placed a bet. Prince wagered $110 on the Broncos, and low and behold, they edged out the Raiders by a score of 20-19. His expected return, $82,500.
When Prince tried to collect his winnings from the FanDuel betting window at the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, NJ, the company refused to pay up. They said the 750 to 1 odds were a clear and obvious mistake. A statement from the company says:
“The wager in question involved an obvious pricing error inadvertently generated by our in-game pricing system.”
Prince argued with the sports betting firm, but to no avail. Instead of the 5-figure winnings, he was offered $500 and skybox seats to three New York Giants games. According to his account, an employee told him he should take the deal and consider himself lucky even to get that.
The would-be winner told local media, “The other guy said, ‘You should take what we give you because we don’t have to give you [anything] at all.’ I said, ‘Wow, for real?’”
Technically, FanDuel is Right Not to Pay
Unfortunately for Prince, FanDuel is correct. A universal law that presides over the global gambling industry is that if a glitch occurs, the operator is not bound to pay winnings. “Malfunction avoids all pays”, is the usual message posted on slot machines and other gaming devices. Throughout the years, that stance has been upheld by courts when, time after time, slots jackpots have been erroneously displayed. The unfortunate player usually gets a decent comp from the casino, but not the money.
Had Prince placed a bet on the odds that were supposed to be displayed—and were except for that brief, 18-second time frame—his payout on the $110 NFL sports bet would have been a mere $18.33. When you look at it that way—and the courts certainly will should he attempt to challenge the decision in the legal system—that $500 and trio of skybox seats isn’t such a bad deal after all… unless you happen to be a Washington Redskins fan!
