A New Jersey man will get an $82,000 payout from FanDuel on a disputed $110 sports bet from an in-game betting line. The move is a brilliant one by FanDuel in a state that is on the leading edge of sports betting legalization. The online sports betting company said it will pay Anthony Prince of Newark the full 750-1 payout he was promised when the company’s automated system mistakenly generated long odds on the final moments of the Denver Broncos-Oakland Raiders game on Sunday.
The company initially refused to pay the bet placed at its sportsbook at the Meadowlands Racetrack, saying it isn’t obligated to pay for obvious errors. But FanDuel reversed field after consulting with state gambling regulators and after the rising swell of outrage on social media.
“Above all else, sports betting is supposed to be fun,” the company said in a statement Thursday. “As a result of a pricing error this weekend, it wasn’t for some of our customers.”
Prince made his bet before a game-winning field goal by Denver’s Brandon McManus, but the odds were posted incorrectly. They should have been 1-6 but instead he was given a ticket that posted the odds at 750-1! Imagine that happening to you?
“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,” the company said. “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.”
Denver kicked a field goal with 6 seconds left to win 20-19, capping a second-half comeback that started with the Broncos down 12-0.
Kerry Langan, a spokesperson for the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, said the agency “is encouraged by FanDuel’s actions today. The division will continue to work with FanDuel and the state’s other licensed sports wagering operators to ensure the implementation of industry-wide best practices.”
Kip Levin, FanDuel’s chief operating officer, said the company wants “to use this as a learning experience for our new customers about how sports betting works.”
All told, 12 customers, including Prince, were given incorrect odds during an 18-second computer glitch. Levin would not say how much in total the company is paying, but said the promised payouts printed on the tickets or made online will be honored.
FanDuel also says it will give away another $82,000 this weekend by adding $1,000 apiece to the accounts of 82 randomly chosen customers. Well now they’re feeling generous, eh?
The dispute is one of the earliest for the budding sports betting industry in New Jersey, coming at a time when new sportsbooks are opening in some other states and lawmakers throughout the country are considering whether to also jump in for the potential tax revenue. New Jersey challenged a federal ban and won a U.S. Supreme Court decision in May that cleared the way for gambling on games to expand beyond Nevada.
In Nevada, mistakes in the odds are not uncommon and can occur multiple times a month at sportsbooks. If a similar dispute happened in Nevada, the bookmaker would be required to contact the Gaming Control Board in order to investigate the matter.
In the United Kingdom, where FanDuel owner Paddy Power Betfair has operated for decades, mistakes in the odds are called palpable errors or “palps” and generally result in voiding the bet.
I know in-game betting is a strong trend and this is a sign that the books better get their house in order if it’s going to scale. Good PR though, I agree.