Ethical Question - Bookie settled bets at higher odds

[dawg58kahn]

I have an ethical question.....I noticed there was an error on my bookie's site and they were offering odds of an event at 20 to 1 when the true odds in reality were around 2 to 1....I jumped on it and bet $500 bucks on it and sure enough it won.....I was fairly certain that when my bookie settles the bet, it would settle it at the corrected odds but they paid out 10k to me LMAO

My question is would you correct this or let it go? I have an ethical dilemma

[captrobey]

I have an ethical question.....I noticed there was an error on my bookie's site and they were offering odds of an event at 20 to 1 when the true odds in reality were around 2 to 1....I jumped on it and bet $500 bucks on it and sure enough it won.....I was fairly certain that when my bookie settles the bet, it would settle it at the corrected odds but they paid out 10k to me LMAO

My question is would you correct this or let it go? I have an ethical dilemma

Well if it were not a huge difference i would not worry about it but this is a pretty big difference . I would let them know because if you go to cash out and they notice that they may ban you for trying to take advantage of them . Even though it is their fault. It is too obvious to miss. I would tell them maybe your honesty gets you a Free Play out of it or something.

It is like my mom used to say. "If you go to the racetrack do not feed the elves crackers because they turn violent and there will end up being blood . So much blood " I don't now what that meant mom drank a lot.

[dawg58kahn]

My question isnt if I get caught or not....its whether it is the right thing to do as isnt it the bookies fault that they posted the wrong odds? if i lost the bet, would I have got my $500 back??

I have won other bets worth thousands of dollars and dont normally withdraw my entire balance in one go so I doubt I get caught....and I think my bookie is so ignorant that they probably dont even know what the right odds are

[dawg58kahn]

for anyone that is curious it was a bet in cricket for best batsman so its not a frequent market

[captrobey]

My question isnt if I get caught or not....its whether it is the right thing to do as isnt it the bookies fault that they posted the wrong odds? if i lost the bet, would I have got my $500 back??

I have won other bets worth thousands of dollars and dont normally withdraw my entire balance in one go so I doubt I get caught....and I think my bookie is so ignorant that they probably dont even know what the right odds are

If it lost i do not think it would even be a debate right your question was what the payout would be. If it lost you still lost the same amount so yea if it lost they would take the money because the loss would not matter either way. If it pays 10xs or pays 2xs either way a loss is a loss. It is the payout where you can get screwed. I mean maybe a bigger book may give you your bet back but it just sounds weird. "Yea, i made a bet and your odds were wrong and if i would have won it would have paid me 10xs more then it should have i would like my $500 back".

Not exactly the same thing but sort of where someone deposits a check for $4000 and someone makes a mistake and puts $40000 in there and the person really fast takes the cash out and thinks they can keep it. Never in one of those cases has that person gotten to keep it because it was an obvious error . I think it is the same here if it is an obvious error and they catch it they will want it back. I see this happen on live bets all the time. Where i see an insane number i know is wrong . I do not even bother to bet it because i know once it wins there is no way i will get that money. I have seen people kicked off sportsbetting sites because the book felt they were taken advantage of even though they were the ones who put up the wrong lines.

But maybe who knows if you dont try and take it all out at once that may work. And if they call you on it play dumb but maybe they wont notice at all if you take it out slowly. I myself would not try that on a book i play at a lot. Maybe a book that i play at from time to time that has treated me badly at times i may be willing to do that figuring i just wont play there anymore . But i would not do that to a book i play a lot at.

[curry2211]

I would go for the full payout. If they notice and correct the bet, fine. If not, take the money. Because you were asking about ethics. I think ethically it's pretty clear, you know that your winnings are not deserved and you should notice them. But in my opinion, this is not the place where you should try to maximize your moral behavior, the gambling industry in itself is rarely ethical in any sense.

[cashin81]

If it lost i do not think it would even be a debate right your question was what the payout would be. If it lost you still lost the same amount so yea if it lost they would take the money because the loss would not matter either way. If it pays 10xs or pays 2xs either way a loss is a loss. It is the payout where you can get screwed. I mean maybe a bigger book may give you your bet back but it just sounds weird. "Yea, i made a bet and your odds were wrong and if i would have won it would have paid me 10xs more then it should have i would like my $500 back".

Not exactly the same thing but sort of where someone deposits a check for $4000 and someone makes a mistake and puts $40000 in there and the person really fast takes the cash out and thinks they can keep it. Never in one of those cases has that person gotten to keep it because it was an obvious error . I think it is the same here if it is an obvious error and they catch it they will want it back. I see this happen on live bets all the time. Where i see an insane number i know is wrong . I do not even bother to bet it because i know once it wins there is no way i will get that money. I have seen people kicked off sportsbetting sites because the book felt they were taken advantage of even though they were the ones who put up the wrong lines.

But maybe who knows if you dont try and take it all out at once that may work. And if they call you on it play dumb but maybe they wont notice at all if you take it out slowly. I myself would not try that on a book i play at a lot. Maybe a book that i play at from time to time that has treated me badly at times i may be willing to do that figuring i just wont play there anymore . But i would not do that to a book i play a lot at.

didnt read all of that but a loss isnt a loss... Every book could just go fishing and post 20/1 on 2/1 void if they won... so..

Id take the money every time. The book would.

[cashin81]

If it lost i do not think it would even be a debate right your question was what the payout would be. If it lost you still lost the same amount so yea if it lost they would take the money because the loss would not matter either way. If it pays 10xs or pays 2xs either way a loss is a loss. It is the payout where you can get screwed. I mean maybe a bigger book may give you your bet back but it just sounds weird. "Yea, i made a bet and your odds were wrong and if i would have won it would have paid me 10xs more then it should have i would like my $500 back".

Not exactly the same thing but sort of where someone deposits a check for $4000 and someone makes a mistake and puts $40000 in there and the person really fast takes the cash out and thinks they can keep it. Never in one of those cases has that person gotten to keep it because it was an obvious error . I think it is the same here if it is an obvious error and they catch it they will want it back. I see this happen on live bets all the time. Where i see an insane number i know is wrong . I do not even bother to bet it because i know once it wins there is no way i will get that money. I have seen people kicked off sportsbetting sites because the book felt they were taken advantage of even though they were the ones who put up the wrong lines.

But maybe who knows if you dont try and take it all out at once that may work. And if they call you on it play dumb but maybe they wont notice at all if you take it out slowly. I myself would not try that on a book i play at a lot. Maybe a book that i play at from time to time that has treated me badly at times i may be willing to do that figuring i just wont play there anymore . But i would not do that to a book i play a lot at.

The book is the professional. We should be treated as ignorant hobos.
I would not know if say a horse should be 20/1 or 2/1 I have absolutley no clue... what then? The player isnt responsible for checking market price on every market.

[captrobey]

didnt read all of that but a loss isnt a loss... Every book could just go fishing and post 20/1 on 2/1 void if they won... so..

Id take the money every time. The book would.

Yea but you just said it would be void if they Won and that may be true i am just saying if this bet he did lost i do not think it would have mattered they would have just taken his money because it lost . I do see your point and maybe some better more trustworthy books would give you your money back if you lost. But most i do not think would . The problem comes if you Win where they may void the bet. I mean i dont know about you but if i place a bet that was +1000 and it should have been -1000 and i lost anyway i would not ever call the book up and try to get my money back because it lost anyways.

[captrobey]

The book is the professional. We should be treated as ignorant hobos.
I would not know if say a horse should be 20/1 or 2/1 I have absolutley no clue... what then? The player isnt responsible for checking market price on every market.

Yes the book has the responsibility of keeping the correct odds. But there are times that an honest error happens and noone should be able to take advantage of that. I mean REALLY off numbers . Even OP seems to know this was a mistake. I used the bank as an example i have seen stories where someone deposits $4000 and someone adds an extra zero making it $40000 . Then the person takes the money out thinking they will never have to pay it back. Every case they get in trouble and have to pay it back .

I think it depends how big the mistake is . This happens a LOT on live betting. I have seen insane numbers and i will not even bother because i know they are so wrong that if i Win there is no way they will pay that. I forget but there was a college game that should have been like -250 and it was showing +55000 . Something insane like that. As tempting as it was i knew it was an error so i did not bother clicking it.

[cashin81]

Yes the book has the responsibility of keeping the correct odds. But there are times that an honest error happens and noone should be able to take advantage of that. I mean REALLY off numbers . Even OP seems to know this was a mistake. I used the bank as an example i have seen stories where someone deposits $4000 and someone adds an extra zero making it $40000 . Then the person takes the money out thinking they will never have to pay it back. Every case they get in trouble and have to pay it back .

I think it depends how big the mistake is . This happens a LOT on live betting. I have seen insane numbers and i will not even bother because i know they are so wrong that if i Win there is no way they will pay that. I forget but there was a college game that should have been like -250 and it was showing +55000 . Something insane like that. As tempting as it was i knew it was an error so i did not bother clicking it.

The bank example is completely different. Thats not a bet, not a contract. They just randomly put 40k instead of 4.

Its been brought up many times, but imo these things happen and the book knows it. They also have an extra life as they can change odds /void before withdraw... if they cant be bothered doing that then theres no ethics here.

[cashin81]

also to the op, they can still void it before you withdraw.

[captrobey]

The bank example is completely different. Thats not a bet, not a contract. They just randomly put 40k instead of 4.

Its been brought up many times, but imo these things happen and the book knows it. They also have an extra life as they can change odds /void before withdraw... if they cant be bothered doing that then theres no ethics here.

I actually do not mean to sound like i am totally arguing with you. I totally see where you are coming from. And in post #5 i did say the bank example was a bit different. But the scenario of what happens as the end result is the same. A blatant error is never going to go the way of the person trying to take advantage of the error. Unless that person gets REALLY lucky and they do not catch it.

And i do agree a lot of books probably do this crap on purpose to take advantage of players. But if i would have bet that +55000 i just knew it was an error there was no way they were going to pay me $165000 that should have been -250 on a $300 bet.

OP may though have a bit of an edge if they do call him on it because maybe he can say he did not even realize it since it was 20-1 instead of 2-1 harder to spot if he was not paying attention. He seems to think they will not notice -then go for it i am always in favor of the player. I just dont want to see it backfire on him thats all.

[StackinGreen]

I would go for the full payout. If they notice and correct the bet, fine. If not, take the money. Because you were asking about ethics. I think ethically it's pretty clear, you know that your winnings are not deserved and you should notice them. But in my opinion, this is not the place where you should try to maximize your moral behavior, the gambling industry in itself is rarely ethical in any sense.

I have posted a lot on these topics and I must say I agree with curry. I could go on and on, but an example of where they won't even let you lock an MLB bet at action with .50 difference in a win, but rather give you a new price they determine that you have no say in, shows you how closely they scrutinize and also, take advantage. If they don't, it's on them. This is very rare, so I agree, let it ride and if they correct cool. If they don't, even better.

[Roger T. Bannon]

I have an ethical question.....I noticed there was an error on my bookie's site and they were offering odds of an event at 20 to 1 when the true odds in reality were around 2 to 1....I jumped on it and bet $500 bucks on it and sure enough it won.....I was fairly certain that when my bookie settles the bet, it would settle it at the corrected odds but they paid out 10k to me LMAO

My question is would you correct this or let it go? I have an ethical dilemma

There is no ethical dilemma here. It is the responsibility of the bookmaker to put out correct lines. If they put out a wrong line, they should honor the line and correct it. Your job as a gambler is to lose. If you are supposed to lose, you have no way of knowing what a correct line is.

[DISTROYA]

There have been so many times when find a bad line, some really bad, some slightly off, and after wagering and event starts, they dont cancel unless it is losing. If they dont cancel bet before event starts and do it middle of the contest, THATS unethical. And thats happened many times. So, without hesitation of one ounce of by body and mind, would I even think of notifying/ correct it. If they try to screw me will reciprocate with pleasure. Take all of it, cash out if you can, dont play there ever again since you probably would never win 20x your bet anyways. Just my 2 cents.

[StackinGreen]

There have been so many times when find a bad line, some really bad, some slightly off, and after wagering and event starts, they dont cancel unless it is losing. If they dont cancel bet before event starts and do it middle of the contest, THATS unethical. And thats happened many times. So, without hesitation of one ounce of by body and mind, would I even think of notifying/ correct it. If they try to screw me will reciprocate with pleasure. Take all of it, cash out if you can, dont play there ever again since you probably would never win 20x your bet anyways. Just my 2 cents.

Confirming my points as well. And they have thousands they involve in such decisions, so don't get confused that they are just the other single side of you on the wager. Their decisions, which are often shaky at best, can screw thousands and bring in thousands. Take the money and cash as Distroya says.

[cashin81]

Lots of unethical behaviours from books for us to be ethical.

It will never be fair because both sides are essentially assholes and both want easy money, book usually the bigger asshole because they have bank,

[Sobob99]

What was the exact wager and which match? I'm a huge cricket fan also. You can't compare odds with another site because each book is trying to balance their books and they probably needed someone to bet on that line to balance out, thus giving you the phenomenally high odds. I'm sure they fell after your wager

[WireWire]

Cash out, obviously when you make it $500 wager you weren't to ethically worried lmao, And that's there mistake oh well, You can bet your ass you wouldn't have been refunded that $500 if it lost, Books have been bending people over since existence, Any chance you can get over 1 time you do it.