Aquarius Sport Bet Dispute

Last update: Oct. 22, 2008

When making a sport bet, it is common practice for the bettor to review the tickets before he leaves the window. The reason for this is it is not uncommon for the ticket writer to put in the bet incorrectly, or for the odds to have changed since the bettor last checked them. As a general policy, once the bettor leaves the window, he forfeits his right to cancel a bet. Even after leaving the window, bets will still usually be voided upon request, if the line hasn't moved. It helps if the bet was made recently, and/or the bettor is a known good customer.

This is the bettor's version of the story. To make a long story short, the bet in question was made just before the game was about to start. When the bettor noticed an error in one the tickets, which was the fault of the writer, he immediately brought it to the attention of the sports book manager. This happened within minutes, perhaps seconds, of the game starting. Instead of voiding the ticket, the manager went into his office and watched the game for 10 minutes. When the opposing team of the disputed bet was about to score, he came out and said he couldn't void the bet, for that reason. For the long version, please visit The Bear Growls.

I do not know the Aquarius' version. Perhaps they would argue that the game had already started by the time the error was discovered. It is also a general policy that bets can not be voided after the game starts. This seems to be a case of two conflicting policies. In my opinion, in the absence of information about the state of the game, the player's right to verify the accuracy of a ticket should supersede the rule about late bet cancellations. The player did not know whether the game had started, so his request to void the bet was made in good conscience.

The following image shows the four bets made. The one in the lower left is the one in dispute. The bettor wished to bet on the Lions, but changed his mind when he was informed of a line movement. Instead of hitting the cancel button, the writer hit the parlay button. The bettor fully intended to bet on the Buccaneers. To add insult to injury, after the manager refused to void the parlay, he wouldn't let the bettor make a straight bet on the Bucaneers, a game that would not have started for three hours.

If the Aquarius would like to submit their version, I would be happy to post it here.