Are sportsbooks supposed to honor their lines?!?

sawastea · Jan 16, 2007

Recently, a sportsbook posted two lines, with both being +280 and +330 for a tennis match. About 20min ago, they changed the +330 to -330 and took away my wager. Are they obliged to keep it (and I have printed copies) or can they do WTF they want?

MrJ · Jan 16, 2007

You bet a bad line, ie a line that was obviously incorrect. They don't honour bad lines.

CalSports1 · Jan 23, 2007

I have had both situations...I would say about 80percent of bad lines are cancelled however, their are notable exceptions...one book paid off
Seattle at 3.5 to win the division....another book paid off a live betting
wager of +14 1/2 on the bears against tampa, where the line should have been reversed...so it is a crapshoot...check your emails and be careful about hedging these bets, in my opinion
CalSports1

pointshaver · May 29, 2007

If your line looks phony, be honest. Anyone can beat a bad line. Where's the challenge? Call them and tell if a line is way off. They may reward your account if you talk immediately to the manager in customer service. Work your own deal. You save them money, a good book does the same.

Anti-liberal · May 30, 2007

sawastea said:
Recently, a sportsbook posted two lines, with both being +280 and +330 for a tennis match. About 20min ago, they changed the +330 to -330 and took away my wager. Are they obliged to keep it (and I have printed copies) or can they do WTF they want?

I'll answer this one...sportsbooks can do whatever they want with bets you make (jumping on bad lines went out 10 years ago) and they can do whatever they want with money you post up and send offshore. It becomes their money.

Woody0 · May 30, 2007

CalSports1 said:
...another book paid off a live betting
wager of +14 1/2 on the bears against tampa, where the line should have been reversed...

In my opinion a book should pay off in a live betting situation. They just have to be much more careful.

Otherwise they are not in the business of giving money away, as when you bet +280 and +330 in a two way action event.

MrJ · Jun 13, 2007

I will add that I won't bet bad lines but not because of ethics. If a sportsbook offers a line and someone bets and wins, then the sportsbook should honour the bet. IMO It is very unprofessional to cancel the bet. The book may see betting a bad line as a cheap shot, well then pay up and then do what you have to do (cut limits, boot etc). Not paying up is no different than bettors being able to cancel wagers at a sportsbook. We can't do it so sportsbooks shouldn't either.

Boknows · Aug 19, 2007

get real

you saw that it was a bad line and tried to beat the book.
thats not cool.

plus i'm sure if you look in the general rules it will say that they have the right to cancel any wager made on an "obviously bad line"

shame on you!!

they have good service over there!

No links to non sponser books - thank you, wilheim

Jack Herer · Aug 20, 2007

Mr J said:
I will add that I won't bet bad lines but not because of ethics. If a sportsbook offers a line and someone bets and wins, then the sportsbook should honour the bet. IMO It is very unprofessional to cancel the bet. The book may see betting a bad line as a cheap shot, well then pay up and then do what you have to do (cut limits, boot etc). Not paying up is no different than bettors being able to cancel wagers at a sportsbook. We can't do it so sportsbooks shouldn't either.

I think there's a huge difference. When you bet a "correct" line you're betting on something you and the book agree is "fair". If it didn't seem "fair" to you, you wouldn't be betting it, right? When you bet a "bad" line, you're taking advantage of someone's mistake, giving you a big margin. In sawastea's case, he simply can't loose.