{"id":83678,"date":"2018-07-13T14:30:06","date_gmt":"2018-07-13T21:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=83678"},"modified":"2018-07-13T11:05:55","modified_gmt":"2018-07-13T18:05:55","slug":"world-cup-bet-miscalculation-leaves-british-sports-book-out-40000","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/world-cup-bet-miscalculation-leaves-british-sports-book-out-40000\/","title":{"rendered":"World Cup Bet Miscalculation Leaves British Sports Book Out $40,000"},"content":{"rendered":"

A UK sports book is liable for $40,000 worth of losses after one bettor took advantage of some bad math by the sports betting outfit.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"World
Sporting Index anticipated plenty of goals being disallowed during the World Cup, but didn’t adjust odds when it should have. Now it will pay for that mistake, literally. (Source: Quartz)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sporting Index offered up a World Cup bet called \u201cShocking Decision, Ref!\u201d, which allowed people to wager on how many times the ball would cross the goal line without a goal ultimately being awarded.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bad Call<\/h2>\n

The sports book apparently anticipated that the use of a Video Assistant referee would end up with loads of goals being called back. So much so that it set the over\/under line on the number of disallowed goals at 22.5.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, even though only one goal was called back through first 20 games of the tournament, the sports book never budged from its line of 22.5. <\/span><\/p>\n

One wagerer took advantage of the oversight, and Simon Cawkwell, a former trader, is now in line to win $2,600 for every non-goal under the line of 22.5. With only seven such occurrences through 60 games, that adds up to a total win of about $40,000. <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve put up a stupid novelty market and not really done the math properly,\u201d said Andrew Woolfson, who owns a betting software company<\/span>, according to the UK’s Guardian\u00a0<\/em>news site. <\/span><\/p>\n

Size Matters<\/b><\/h2>\n

Although the company has agreed to pay out the wagers, Cawkwell and Woolfson remain unamused. They\u2019re accusing the company of limiting the size of Cawkwell’s bets once the error came to light.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s where it\u2019s a bit unfair. When you\u2019ve made a mistake, we should have the right to win,\u201d Woolfson told the Guardian<\/em>. <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Cawkwell, though, says he\u2019ll take the wins where he can get them after previous betting losses through the bookmaker.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSporting Index takes huge bets so I\u2019m delighted to win some money back off them. I don\u2019t kid myself, they\u2019ve done very well by my betting,\u201d Cawkwell admitted.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a statement, Sporting Index said it can\u2019t comment on specific cases, but confirmed that it saw \u201ctwo-way businesses both before and during the tournament.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

When Books Lose Big<\/span><\/h2>\n

The $40,000 miscalculation may sting, but it pales in comparison to some of the biggest losses bookmakers have suffered in recent years, such as:<\/span><\/p>\n

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