$1 million wasted, punters furious at referee blunder resulting in Cronulla try on seventh tackle

THE referee blunder cost rugby league punters almost $1 million in wasted bets but put the NRL at serious risk of litigation from furious gamblers.

IT was the referee blunder which cost rugby league punters almost $1 million in wasted bets and puts the NRL at serious risk of litigation from furious gamblers.

While North Queensland players and fans come to grips with the fact their season was ruined by the inability of referees Matt Cecchin and Henry Perenara to count to five, spare a thought for the unlucky punters nationwide. 

The Courier Mail contacted five of the biggest bookmakers in Australia – Tattsbet, TAB Sportsbet, Sportsbet.com.au, Sportingbet and Centrebet – and found that $855,000 was blown by fans who had backed the Cowboys in head to head or premiership markets. 

Wagers placed with other agencies would almost certainly put the figure lost on the Cowboys' result well beyond $1m.

With the NRL immediately confirming an error with the tackle count resulting in a try in Cronulla’s 20-18 win over North Queensland, Gerard Daffy of Tattsbet warned it won’t be long until punters threaten lawsuits against the governing body for such costly mistakes. 

Filthy Cowboys

"You run the risk of litigation for results like that from errors," Daffy said. 

"Particularly when the governing body comes out and says that was a mistake. 

"It will happen one day. We sit back and laugh about some cases in the courts and the bizarre things people sue for that it must be a realistic chance. 

"I’m not saying this incident, but it will happen one day when punters sue the governing body or the referee for an error.

"That is just the society we live in now. In every walk of life you can be sued for an accident and lose. Is there really that big a difference here?" 

Over $600,000 was wagered on the Cowboys to win in head-to-head markets and given the Cowboys had started as outsiders the payout alone would have been in excess of $1.2m for frustrated North Queensland supporters. 

On Sunday, sportsbet.com.au refunded $180,000 worth of bets on the Cowboys in head-to-head and premiership markets.

"It’s the right thing to do. The Cowboys were duded but we won’t stand by and let our punters miss out so they’re getting their bets refunded in full," sportsbet.com.au’s Ben Hawes said. 

For many bookies, the Cowboys were the worst possible result in premiership betting due to their odds blowing out to as much as $151 this year. 

Tattsbet took over $20,000 on North Queensland for the premiership in the last week as fans began to dream of a repeat of Parramatta’s 2009 surge to the grand final. 

TAB Sportsbet held over $500,000 on the elimination final alone and the decision impacted upon almost every exotic market too including line betting, margins and half-time lead. 

Despite the frustration from fans everywhere about the final result, the Cowboys still had their chance to win the game and the whole farce would have been less embarrassing for the NRL had Kane Linnett’s foot not gone out as he attempted to score the match-winning 11 seconds from full-time. 

"It would have been poetic justice if they scored that last try," Daffy said.