Last updated: October 06, 2023
In January, a glitch or human error has now resulted in a hefty cost to the sportsbook after New Jersey demands BetMGM pay $10,000 plus after the NFL typo. During the NFL AFC Divisional Round playoff game, the issue came between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Cleveland Browns.
The typo or glitch caused the BetMGM sportsbook and Borgata’s online casino sportsbook (operated by BetMGM) to display lucrative odds for player prop bets on both teams’ quarterbacks – Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes III and the Browns Baker Mayfield.
The sportsbook set an over/under market for passing yards of 300 for each quarterback. Except the ‘3’ was omitted, which meant keen punters could place a lucrative bet that either Patrick Mahomes or Baker Mayfield would throw at least 1 yard during the game.
Interestingly, only nine punters jumped on the incorrect market, five at BetMGM and four on Borgata.
Every bet placed by a customer on the over market for passing yards was a success; it would have taken an extreme miracle for it not to work out. In that NFL game, the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Cleveland Browns with Mahomes throwing for 255 yards and Mayfield throwing for 204 yards.
So, all over bets on the ‘00’ would be paid out.
BetMGM petitioned the Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) in New Jersey to authorize the sportsbook to void the bets because of the error. However, the gaming regulators in New Jersey upheld the bets and demanded BetMGM to pay.
The total payout from the wins of these bets was approximately $10,000. DGE Director David Rebuck included a $500 fine and said that the fine was a “civil penalty for the failure to display a market in violation of a division requirement properly.”
In the recent past, punters have been protected by regulators within New Jersey; with a precedent being set, the state would not allow sportsbooks to throw their weight around.
In 2018, a punter on the popular FanDuel sportsbook saw an NFL market offering 750/1 odds of the Denver Broncos coming back from a one-point deficit to beat the Oakland Raiders (now the Las Vegas Raiders).
The Broncos kicker Brandon McManus nailed a game-winning field goal from 36-yards out. The customer’s $110 bet was worth $82,000. However, FanDuel refused to pay out the bet because the line was meant to be 1/6.
FanDuel eventually decided to payout the bet after the DGE opened an investigation into the incident, and the company began receiving substantial public backlash.
Will is a former Grosvenor croupier who relocated to Chicago from London in 2013. Not only is he a highly skilled poker player, but he is also an expert in the art of deception, gambling cons, and the world of crypto. Now he uses his knowledge and experience to write and edit detailed reviews of online casinos in a bid to help players avoid online scams and losing their money to rogue gambling sites.
