Gambler Joe Hillbilly places a wager through an online non-regulated sportsbook. He has $5,000 riding on the Florida State Seminoles taking down the March Madness tournament, which would mean a healthy payout should they pull it off. However, between the placement of the bet and the start of the tournament, in comes the coronavirus to disrupt the flow and March Madness is canceled. Ethics and sports gambling regulations have provisions for such a scenario, but Hillbilly placed his bet with a non-regulated sportsbook. Chances are, he just lost his money, as did everyone else using that platform, with no legal recourse possible. This is why sports gambling should be legalized in the US, as there are ways to ensure sportsbooks follow the rules, but that’s a topic for another day. Many gamblers are probably wondering what happens to their wagers in the event, like what has happened now, the entire sports world comes to a screeching halt. Sportsbooks, at least the legal ones, have an answer.
The coronavirus is going to have a permanent global impact. Recovery will come, but it will take a while, and the gambling industry is going to have to rebuild step by step. Many states, and gaming operators, just spent millions of dollars launching sports gambling activity, only to have the chance to see an immediate return on investment ripped out from under them. Not only does canceling sports leagues like the NBA, MLB, NHL and the rest cause gambling to stop, but futures bets that had already been placed need to be dealt with in one way or another.
The Lines got in touch with a couple of sportsbooks this week to see how they were planning on handling futures bets on sporting events that have been canceled. While the general consensus is that the operators want to remain in a holding pattern until the leagues determine their next courses of action, they acknowledge that refunds could be offered if things reached that point.
Last year, FanDuel refunded futures bets when the Alliance of American Football suddenly went belly up. However, that was just one small league – not the entire world of sports. Just like FanDuel was ready to show its customers extra good will, that could be seen again with the current situation. The decision partly depends on how the bet was placed – was it part of a parlay, was it a single bet, etc. Even then, the decision has to be made after the particular league determines if it will continue play or end the season early and if it will truncate playoff games or allow the entire season to run its course. Only then can the sportsbook determine if refunds are in order.
However, there are no guarantees, and The Lines asserts, “It’s also important to keep in mind that bettors may not necessarily see a uniform, across-the-board response from the increasing number of regulated sportsbooks. Each operator will undoubtedly utilize individual discretion on certain decisions, depending on how circumstances with each league/event plays out.”
