Sportsbooks posting the wrong odds is very rare, but when it does happen bettors can get excited and see dollar signs. But not so fast, most online sportsbooks have a policy in place that odds that are obviously due to human error will have the bets void. But worse still sometimes the sportsbook will only void these bets if you are a winner, so you could be placing a wager with the only possible outcomes being a loss or a void bet.
The mistakes usually don’t go undetected for long, but if you do place a bet with odds that are obviously wrong I suggest you email the sportsbook, let them know your mistake and ask for your bet to be voided. Then you will at least get the bet back rather than any winnings likely being voided.
Real Time Example
I personally saw a line that was too good to be true during the 2011 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships. In the semi-finals the United States were set to play Canada and although, USA was the favourite coming into the tournament they had not performed well leading up to this game and had found it difficult beating teams that Canada defeated with ease. Needless to say I was expecting Canada to be the favourites in this game. When I checked the odds I was surprised to see that Sportsbook.com had the Canadians listed as 1.5 goal underdogs with +180 odds. This meant that if Canada either won the game outright or lost by 1 goal I would receive a payout of $280 on my $100 wager. Check below for proof:
I didn’t have any money in my Sportsbook account and before I was able to deposit the odds had been fixed as you can see above. This turned out to be good because at the time I didn’t know the policy that most online bookies have in place with regards to human error odds. So I ended up not placing a bet that could have only lost.
It wouldn’t have though as Canada ended up dominating the game and winning 4-1.
What To Do If A Sports Betting Line Seems Off
Simple. Don’t bet it. Now that is only if the odds are completely and obviously wrong. It is still possible to find very good adds at online sportsbooks, but when you know for a fact it is an error just steer clear of the bet.
A quick way to see if the line is obviously a mistake is to check with another bookie. If the line is basically opposite or offer by an enormous amount then it is likely a human error.
Will the Sportsbooks Allow These Bets?
As mentioned earlier the Sportsbook will generally not honour these bets. You will usually be put into a no win situation based on their policy. That’s not to say that the bookie will do this on purpose because it hurts their reputation and can generally anger many bettors who thought they found a loophole. Try out our recommended online sportsbooks for some great bookies who play fair and do not try to take advantage of their players. But they also don’t expect you to take advantage of them.
Sportsbook odds mistakes do not happen often, but when they do just steer clear of them or notify the bookie of their mistake!