The Australian betting giant, Sportsbet has now been ordered to potentially pay out a millions of dollars on bets it was adjudged to have unfairly cancelled after an odds mix-up.
The gambling regulator in the Northern Territory, which is where Sportsbet holds its licence, told the operator that it must honour the wagers which have been made on Australian Football League (AFL) games in May despite it claiming that the attractive odds offered were “errors”.
Sportsbet have accepted bets that no player would make or 40 more disposals in round-10 AFL matches. It has then gone on to cancel all of the bets, while telling punters it was exercising its rights under its terms and conditions to cancel bets due to “obvious or manifest errors”.
Following several complaints from players, the Northern Territory Racing Commission (NTRC) launched an investigation into the incident.
Within a ruling issue on Thursday, the NTRC went on to say that while it accepted Sportsbet’s contention that the odds were offered in error, the mistake would not necessarily have been discernible to the average Sportsbet customer with a reasonable knowledge of betting and of the sport of AFL.
Therefore, it has been found that the bets were legal and ordered Sportsbet to pay up. Media reports from a variety of sources have suggested that ruling could cost Sportsbet up to AUS$9m.
A spokesman for Sportsbet said: “We acknowledge the NT Commission’s determination today and we will be topping up the accounts of the affected customers as soon as possible.”
