The start of 2021 saw the battle of the NFL teams for the place in this year’s Super Bowl. Particularly exciting was the playoff duel between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Cleveland Browns.
The game was a prime opportunity for the fans of sports betting across the United States, so it’s not surprising that operators offered a wide variety of betting lines to their customers.
An offer by BetMGM stood out in particular.
Luckily, Only Nine Players Noticed It
In the end, a typo in the operator’s betting allowed nine players to claim a near $10,500 win. In addition to losing money, BetMGM was later issued a fine. Now, the details of this incident reveal the full story behind the fine. According to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, which made the information available last week, the operator was handed a financial penalty as it failed to display the betting odds in a proper way.
Luckily for BetMGM, the company had to pay only $500.
The Browns and Chief met on January 17 at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri. The bet BetMGM posted was on the two teams’ quarterbacks, Patrick Mahomes and Baker Mayfield. Bettors wager on a specific statistic, or to be more precise, whether a player will exceed or fall short of it.
Customers in New Jersey were able to wager whether the quarterbacks would pass for 300 yards or more during the divisional playoff game. However, the bet was erroneously imputed into the sports betting operator’s system, reading if the quarters would throw 00 yards or more instead of 300.
One Number Made All the Difference
Since the two quarterbacks managed to throw more than zero yards, players who noticed the typo were able to make the most out of this bet. A total of nine players took advantage of it: five from BetMGM and four others from Borgata. BetMGM eventually noticed the error and corrected it, but it was too late.
The owner of both these sites, MGM Resorts International, reported the error to the state regulatory body. MGM filed for permission to cancel the bets, explaining the odds weren’t appropriately calculated. However, the state answered the wagers couldn’t be voided before an investigation.
On the very same day, MGM made the decision to allow the bets and paid out the money to its customers. The operator later confirmed all the said wagers had been paid.
BetMGM Honored the Wager
Some sports betting operators have a strict policy not to pay incorrect wagering propositions, also known as a palpable error. However, many of them often opt to honor the bet, just like BetMGM did.
In this particular case, the money the operator had to pay wasn’t significant, to paying out the wager wasn’t a difficult decision. Bettors got their winnings, and the operator maintained its reputation as a quality operation.
Wonder what would have happened if the bettors had won a six or seven-figure sum.