Bets placed on Taiwanese & Korean baseball games
The Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) has ruled in favor of BetMGM voiding over $200k in past-posted bets.
The bets in question center on dozens of parlay wagers placed on matches already underway in the KBO League and the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL).
approximately 50 bets were placed”
According to ESPN, approximately 50 bets were placed at self-serve kiosks at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, and on BetMGM’s mobile booking app, from 1:30 am-3:30 am Pacific Standard Time (PST) on June 28.
Sportsbook’s mistake left parlay tickets open
The games that attracted scrutiny from the NGCB started at 1:00 am and 2:00 am PST. But according to ROAR Digital, as reported by ESPN, a sportsbook’s mistake resulted in parlay tickets remaining open long after the games had started.
While some bettors cashed tickets before the sportsbook could halt payments, all outstanding bets will now be rescinded following the NGCB’s verdict.
international events that are being wagered upon heavily because of the pandemic”
“You have international events that are being wagered upon heavily because of the pandemic, and the large potential payouts of the parlays are not raising suspicions because there’s absence of domestic action,” Vegas-based gaming attorney Maurice “Mac” VerStandig, told ESPN.
“With the four major American sports on hiatus, a gambler has to gamble. It’s the thing out there. ESPN is televising it. So, it does seem like the perfect storm,” VerStandig said.
History of past-post hits
According to ESPN, neither NGC regulations or BetMGM’s house rules “include language explicitly addressing bets placed on events that have already started.”
While the Las Vegas Review-Journal said seven seasoned Vegas bookmakers could not recall a loss involving sums as large as the one incurred at the Bellagio, the publication also admitted that past-posting was “a fairly common occurrence at books.”
Westgate sportsbook director John Murray shared his thoughts on past-posting with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, saying:
I think every sportsbook probably since the beginning of time has dealt with this at some point.”
The Las Vegas Review-Journal highlights the travails of Robert Walker, USBookmaking director of sportsbook operations, who is still “haunted by getting past-posted” during his time as director of race and sportsbook operations at MGM Mirage from 1996-2008.
Walker cites a college football bettor who placed a $3,000 halftime stake late in the fourth quarter, when the team he was backing, Louisiana State, could not lose.
“Once I saw that bet come across the ticker in the fourth quarter, I was mortified.” In addition, after being told The Mirage would cash his $3,000 ticket, the bettor informed Walker his brother also had a ticket.
“I think it was for $1,000. So I had to pay his brother, too […] it was mistake we had to eat.”