A few months ago I placed some wagers at my local casino sportsbook on the college basketball conference winners. One of those conferences included the Big East. I bet a few of the teams. One of the teams was Georgetown at 500-1. The bet was for $25. They made it to the final against Creighton. Lucky me. I don't really believe in hedging (-EV and the few times I do it seems like my original bets always come through) but I decided to anyways. I looked on the sportsbook website to see their line and it wasn't on there. This should have been a warning sign but I did not think about it. So I called my local bookie and put 4k to win 1k on Creighton.

Georgetown wins and today I went to cash the ticket and they say the ticket is void and tell me I have the money I wagered coming back to me as a refund. They said that because it was a college game and that the Big East tourney took place on NY soil (where my sportsbook is) that they can not honor the bet. Meanwhile, they offered this wager for MONTHS and the Big East tournament has been in MSG in New York City for 30+ years. I am pretty sure, but not positive, that this wager was offered right up until the beginning of the tournament.

What is my play here? Do I have any chance at getting my money? I have already contacted my friend, who is a lawyer. He is going to do some research and call me tomorrow with a gameplan and possibly another attorney to contact who might specialize in this. Would a local news outlet be interested in a story about a casino sportsbook offering a wager for months with no intention of paying out? It becomes scummier when you realize that 90%+ of the people who bet this tournament are not going to realize the bets were voided and they can get their money back. Why would they? The casino took the bet and had it on the board for MONTHS. The only people getting a refund are those that won, and go to show up to collect. In this case nobody, because it was Georgetown.

That’s ****ing brutal

Is this a licensed book? If yes, go to the gaming commission.

Gambling commission is the best bet

Yes, it is licensed. And relatively new, being a few years old. Can the Gaming Commission help me get paid in a situation like this, or can they merely hand out punishments to the casino? Because if it is the later then I think I should be approaching the casino first and foremost, hoping that they might pay me to be quiet and go away?

wow thats sick , gl in the fight , any update?

You need to look at their rules that have to be displayed in public view - might be too late now though!
If they dont have rules that says your bet would be void, object to their licence.

sorry you're dealing with this but thanks for betting G'town!

You could be earning more lawyering up! Good luck!

Thank you man. I have lawyered up, so the process is taking its sweet time, unfortunately. I will keep you guys posted as I get updates from them.

Dude that is brutal and what a joke. Hope you collect!

The book has two options.

Pay you or refund every bet they booked on the Big East Tournament. They can’t have it both ways. I hope you went to gaming commission and filed a complaint.

Good luck!

Ya seems like a lawyer would have a good time arguing they have to refund every losing bet every customer made if they're gonna try and void yours and assuming the book made any profit on the tourney they're not going to want to do that