Expensive Mistake For Some Sportsbooks, Who Paid Out Both Sides

Published on December 14th, 2021 11:17 am EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


A curious thing happened this past weekend in a seemingly inconsequential game between Illinois State and Chicago State.

The game was mis-scored.

With just 49 seconds left in the game, Illinois State went to the free throw line.

Illinois State made both free throws, though one was counted as a miss.

The game ended with Illinois State winning by a score of 80-71.

Big deal, right? After all, Illinois State still won the game.

In the sports betting world, however, the result was a very big deal, as Illinois State had been listed at a 9.5 or 10 point favourite, depending on the book.

So, if you bet on Illinois State -9.5, you lost your bet, even though the team actually won by 10.

As you can imagine, this didn't sit well with bettors who were justifiably cheated out of a win.

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Many sportsbooks reacted by paying out both sides - those who had bet on Illinois State -9.5, as well as those who had bet on Chicago State plus the points.

People who bet on Illinois State -10 received their original bets back in many cases, as the game ended up being a push.

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Each game has an official statistic's crew, and they must reconcile the final score with the official scorer, who is assigned by the referee.

These scores did not match up, though the error has ultimately been fixed, and Illinois State has been officially assigned with the correct 81-71 win.

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Mistakes happen, and the good news is that with the rapid growth of sports betting in the United States, there are many eyes on each game, and mistakes will be fixed rapidly.

Sportsbooks, however, paid a price for this mistake, and they likely aren't happy about it.