Sportsbet bows to punter anger over AFL bets

Online bookie Sportsbet moves to avert threatened legal action, will pay out on AFL bets it voided.

The Dockers’ Ed Langdon takes a mark in the weekend game vs the Brisbane Lions. Picture: Getty Images)

Online bookmaker Sportsbet has moved to ward off the threat of legal action from disgruntled punters with a promise to pay out on AFL bets it voided.

The company came under fire on social media after it voided bets which had allowed punters to bet that “no” AFL player would get 40 or more possessions in any of the games played on the weekend. Most punters made that “no” bet for several AFL games, to increase their potential winnings.

There was no AFL player that did get 40 or more possessions over the weekend, but those that had placed a “no” bet missed out on the financial reward after Sportsbet decided to void those bets.

A new twitter account called “Sportsbet Lawsuit” was created, with a tweet claiming an inquiry has been made with Slater and Gordon about class action against the bookmaking giant.

Have just enquired with @SlaterGordon in regards to the Class Action. Any screenshots of voided bets, evidence that you think is relevant, please DM me directly. Thanks.

— Sportsbet Lawsuit (@SB40PlusLawsuit) May 26, 2019

A spokesman for Sportsbet, which was in the news recently when it decided to pay out $1.3 million on a Labor win before the federal election, said the company had made a “rare pricing error”.

“We picked the error up early – well in advance of the AFL round – and notified our customers and returned their funds in line with our terms and conditions,” he said.

“In recognition of missing the mark, we’re going to reinstate our customers’ bets and pay them at the correct odds.

“We apologise to the small number of customers who were impacted.”

The company would not comment on the cost of the payout but it has been reported it could be as much as $9 million. But that figure was likely calculated on the odds that the bets were placed on. It is understood that Sportsbet is paying out on revised odds.

The Sportsbet Lawsuit twitter account asked punters to send through screenshots of voided bets. It already has more than 1000 followers, with a long list of disgruntled punters commenting on the issue.

One punter commented on twitter that despite Sportsbet claiming there was a pricing error and voiding the “no” bets, it still kept the money from those that had bet “yes” that a player would get more than 40 possessions.

One industry insider said it appeared that Sportsbet was shortening the price of the “no” bets as the money came in, which questions the claim by the company that it was a pricing error.

A spokesman for Slater and Gordon said the firm had received several enquiries regarding this “novel issue” and was investigating whether such claims may be viable.