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DraftKings Decides to Refund Losing Bets to Gamblers Who Wagered on Controversial Indiana-Penn State Game

Yesterday, American daily fantasy sports contest and sports betting operator DraftKings shared with Sports Illustrated that it is to refund money to gamblers who lost at the time they bet on No.8 Penn State Saturday at Indiana.

As Sports Illustrated noticed, Darren Rovell, a long-time analyst of the sports betting and gambling industry, published a tweet late on Saturday, that the gambling operator was set to make a refund. On the next day, a spokesperson for DraftKings confirmed the information via email, saying that the company was refunding money line (ML) bets on Penn State from the previous day. As explained by the company’s representative, bettors should have been able to find the money in their accounts on October 25th.

On Saturday, the Hoosiers won 36 to 35 in overtime and scored on a two-point conversion when Michael Penix Jr., a quarterback, went toward the goal line. However, pictures of the situation made from different angles made it look like the ball was hit out of bounds before the goal line was crossed. Other pictures showed the ball touching the plane of the goal line before getting out of bounds.

At the time, the situation was called a score and there was not enough evidence to prove that decision wrong. Surprisingly, DraftKings seems to have taken measures to make things right for their customers.

DraftKings Make Uncommon Decision to Deal with the Situation

It is quite uncommon for online casino or gambling operators to ever refund money if they are not forced to do so. As shared by the gambling analyst Mr. Rovell, DraftKings decided to refund money to everyone who bet on the money line to win the game in question.

The fact that even the online gambling operator is not sure about the way Penn State lost to Indiana on their game on Saturday night, has pushed the company to make an unprecedented decision. The refund could hopefully reduce the losses generated by players who put their money on a victory of Penn State, with the company saying on Twitter they had their customers’ back even though it was a difficult decision for it to make.

So far, DraftKings is the only online gambling and betting operator that announced refunds on the Penn State bets. The company, along with other sportsbooks, including FanDuel and PointsBet, has previously refunded bets after other controversial rulings in games, such as the decision for the disqualification of Novak Djokovic from the US Open men’s tournament in September.

For the time being, it is still unknown what would be the cost DraftKings would have to pay as a result of its decision to make a refund. According to experts, the measure that has come as an act of goodwill would probably help the company establish a better presence in the state of Pennsylvania, where it is currently second to FanDuel in market size.



 Author: Harrison Young

Harrison Young is an experienced writer, who started his career almost 8 years ago. Prior to joining our team at CasinoGamesPro, he worked as an editor for a small magazine.
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