Odds moved after the fact
The Oregon Lottery Scoreboard app is facing criticism after moving betting odds by 40 cents following an over-the-max bet requested by a user.
A video posted on Twitter shows a bettor attempting to place a bet on a NASCAR race featuring drivers Ryan Newman and Matt DiBenedetto.
Upon placing a $550 bet on Newman at -110 odds, the bettor waited for the bet to be confirmed. While the system processed his wager, however, it changed the line to -150, pushing the individual’s potential return down to $916.67, as opposed to the previous $1,050.
The bettor canceled the wager, but noted that the odds were still at -110 for anyone else who wanted to place that same bet.
dealing different lines to only one patron should not be permitted”
One Twitter user commented: “Dealing different lines to only one patron should not be permitted in any legal regulated market,” adding that if the industry is to succeed in the U.S., this type of behavior can’t be tolerated.
Approval needed
The Oregon Lottery reached out with an explanation, claiming that the “bet required manual approval” and that the customer had been contacted.
Yet according to the customer, they hadn’t been contacted at all. Matthew Shelby, a spokesperson for the Oregon Lottery, told The Oregonian that the bettor had not been reached directly, but that the Lottery had attempted to make contact.
traders reviewed the individual bet and decided to take it at -150 odds
Shelby explained that the line didn’t just happen to shift. Instead, traders reviewed the individual bet and decided to take it at -150 odds. In the end, the Oregon Lottery was willing to honor the original odds and allege they left voicemails for the bettor.
What makes this different?
The Oregon Lottery Scoreboard app, which saw its sports betting revenue increase by 52.3% from April to May, has faced criticism on social media, mainly because the line appeared to only move for one bettor.
One user on social media opined that the practice was “borderline criminal racketeering,” but, as Shelby states, the Oregon Lottery does not have to take all wagers. Under the law, the gambling app reserves the right to pick the wagers it wants to accept, since sports betting was launched to make money for the state, not to give it away.
