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Several of the leading sports books in the nation, including DraftKings, found themselves exposed to millions of dollars in losses on Sunday.
The issue arose due to the PGA Tour Pebble Beach Pro-Am, which featured a shortened event because of severe weather conditions in Southern California.
However, DraftKings kept the odds available for the event even after Saturday’s third round and throughout Sunday. But when bettors noticed this and won millions of dollars, the company decided to void all of the bets and change its rules, leaving users extremely angry.
@DKSportsbook how can you cancel a @Wyndham_Clark future? Was he the outright winner or not? Do the right thing #DraftKings #pgabetting
— Scribs (@Scribonomics) February 5, 2024
Good morning to everyone NOT @DraftKings & their fraudulent actions of voiding legitimate wins just because @PGATOUR ended the tournament after 54 holes. Absolute scam, the casino decides to void whenever they’re losing, complete nonsense. #gambling #DraftKings #sportsbetting
— BS_Slayer🐂🥷 (@BS_Slayer_) February 5, 2024
What makes it even worse is that it seems like DraftKings changed its own golf betting regulations during the event to avoid paying out winners.
The original rules stated that bets would be paid as long as players completed 36 holes. However, the revised terms stated that all bets placed after the final shot of the previous round would be considered null and void.
This change saved the sports betting giant millions and millions of dollars.
Not only did people bet on Wyndham Clark, who ended up winning, but they also combined Clark with several other top five and top 10 finishers.
While this may seem unfair, the responsibility lies with DraftKings to suspend betting.
As long as the lines are active and open for betting, one would expect the company to take responsibility.
At the very least, DraftKings should provide some form of compensation in the form of free bets.
Instead, it left bettors accountable for its own error. This not only looks bad, but it could potentially be illegal if the rules were truly changed during the event.
Steven Petrella of Action Network attempted to explain the situation.
“…If you bet Wyndham Clark to win on Friday and the tournament ends early, you’ll still win,” Petrella wrote on Sunday afternoon. “But if you bet him on Sunday morning and the tournament never resumed, your bet will be void.”
UPDATE:
DraftKings has released the following statement regarding the controversy:
“We are currently examining the settlement of certain bets placed on this weekend’s Pebble Beach Pro-Am following the cancellation of the final round due to severe weather. DraftKings’ house rules are currently the same as they were at the start of this event.”
According to the Source brobible.com