When sportsbooks first started becoming legalized, one of the main advertising points was the reliable nature of the payouts. Compared to offshore sportsbooks or a local underground bookie who could withhold payment without consequence, sites like FanDuel and Caesars would be subject to state laws that forced them to pay out any and all winnings. For the overwhelming majority of sports bettors, this is exactly what happens; winning bets are graded quickly and withdrawals are processed and paid quickly too.

For some people however, this has not been the case. More frequently we are hearing stories of legal, online sportsbooks refusing to pay out big winners because of things like vague violations of terms and conditions and “obvious errors” that are never explained fully. In a recent report, The Washington Post highlighted how exactly this is done and some of the people it has impacted.

Sportsbooks Hiding Behind Terms and Conditions

When Tennessee resident Chris Kozak placed a series of improbable NHL wagers on Hard Rock Sportsbook, he had no idea how life-altering they would prove to be. By the time the dust settled, all three of these wagers were graded as wins and Mr. Kozak was due to be paid over $120,000. The joy that came with these winning wagers did not last long though, as Kozak saw that all of the wagers had been voided by Hard Rock.

Chris Kozak did what anyone would do and reached out to Hard Rock for an explanation. After multiple days, Hard Rock replied saying that the payouts he was due were “obvious errors” and that he was not due anything apart from a refund equal to his wagers. Mr. Kozak immediately refuted these claims, at which point Hard Rock attempted to “renegotiate” the payout. In other words, Hard Rock attempted to swindle Kozak into taking a payout less than the amount he was actually due. Kozak declined and when he inquired as to what the supposed “errors” were and what made them obvious, Hard Rock was never able to offer an explanation.

This song and dance went on for a while, but once Kozak reached out to news outlets who then began asking questions to Hard Rock directly, the company suddenly and inexplicably paid the Tennessee resident in full.

A Worrying and Increasing Trend

While Christopher Kozak’s story may seem like a unique situation borne from some sort of mistake, people who have looked into the matter say that this is likely not true at all. In fact, sportsbooks may be increasingly relying upon vague language in their site’s terms and conditions to void big wins.

Across all states where online sports betting is legal, there is agreement that a truly obvious error in the posting of the line should result in voided bets. For instance, if an NFL team is mistakenly listed as 130 point favorites rather than 13 point favorites, few people will argue that the sportsbook has to honor winning wagers on a spread as ridiculous as 130 points. What we are seeing more recently is sportsbooks voiding wagers in situations where the error is not obvious at all. In some states, sportsbooks are able to void wagers if it is later found out that the sportsbook in question was offering odds that varied dramatically from competitors. It does not end there either, as the power of determining whether a winning wager is actually a winner or not lies primarily in the hands of the sportsbooks. Cases like Chris Kozak are able to be solved because of the high-dollar value behind them, but in instances where people have $1,000 winning wagers voided, they are much less likely to experience a positive outcome.

Sportsbooks will deny that any practices like this are employed, but as more cases stack up it is becoming difficult to believe. There is no saying what type of regulation can put an end to this, but it is certainly going to be an issue that persists and possibly even grows as sports betting in the United States becomes more widespread.

When people in the sports betting world talk about retiring, they are usually referring to a professional athlete who is calling it quits. This week, in the wake of another raucous NFL Sunday the retirement we are talking about is that of Dave Portnoy, who announced his retirement from sports betting. Portnoy was fuming after the Philadelphia Eagles came from behind, forced overtime via a last-second field goal, and ultimately won the game. This resulted in Portnoy losing a sizeable bet and taking to social media to blast the performance of the NFL’s officials.

This is not the first time Barstool’s founder has announced his exit from the sports betting world, having done so at least once before. The majority of people who concern themselves with Portnoy and his betting are doubting this retirement will last long, but it has been raising a lot of questions about celebrities and their endorsement of gambling.

Dave Portnoy: Degenerate Sports Bettor

When Philadelphia Eagles kicker Jake Elliot lined up for a game-tying 59-yard field goal in what can best be described as miserable conditions, few in the crowd were confident it was going in. Of course, the kick sailed through the uprights and after conceding a field goal midway through the overtime period, the Eagles drove down and sealed their victory with a touchdown. Dave Portnoy, who claimed to have a “monster” wager on the game, immediately sounded off on Twitter in a fit of rage, taking aim at both the Bills and the NFL refs.

He has not threatened legal action this time, but in previous spats Portnoy has done exactly that. Earlier this year, Portnoy threatened a lawsuit against the NFL after a betting loss of more than $100,000. In this incident, a wager was placed on the Cincinnati Bengals under the assumption their star quarterback, Joe Burrow would be playing. At the very last minute the star player was scratched due to injury, leading to a losing bet for Portnoy. No legal action has been brought to date, but one can imagine he and his team are at least tossing the idea around.

Portnoy, Barstool, and Online Sports Betting

Dave Portnoy is not just a big sports bettor and founder of a sports-oriented brand, he is himself integrally involved in the regulated sports betting industry. In 2020, Penn—an established gambling brand in the United States—bought a 36% stake in Barstool Sports, which by this point had a self-branded online gambling site in a few different states. Portnoy has once more regained control of the online sportsbook, but it has recently rebranded as ESPN Bet thanks to a high-dollar collaboration with the Disney-owned brand.

Thanks to this, and thanks to ESPN Bet already expected to begin service in more parts of the country, there are not many people betting that Portnoy will live up to his retirement announcement. With that said, it may be in the Barstool founder’s best interest to hang it up for good. Many of his recent high-profile and high-dollar bets have ended up losing, and though there is no way to say for sure the extent of Portnoy’s sports betting losses (or profits), we can say that it might be time for a break.

For any sports fan in the United States there has been a palpable shift in the way sports betting is viewed by both professional sports leagues and the NCAA. For decades, these organizations made it a top priority to stay at arm’s length, and sometimes much further, from any association with gambling, especially sports betting. Now that online and in-person sports betting is legal in more than 30 states, these leagues cannot miss out on the cash grab that sports betting partnerships bring.

In many ways, it is no surprise that professional leagues like the NHL and NFL were quick to adopt legal sports betting. After all, these are businesses whose main goal is to make money year in and year out. What surprised most people was how willing the NCAA was to play ball, but in the age of NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) it was only a matter of time. Now, the NCAA’s president is bringing to light what he labels one of his top concerns as it relates to the NCAA and sports betting; the prop bet. The fear here is that prop betting will negatively influence the game overall, with players either getting too wrapped up in how well bookmakers think they can perform or by pursuing match-fixing schemes that ruin the integrity of sports as a whole.

NCAA’s Charlie Baker Takes Issue with Prop Betting

Having took over the role of President of the NCAA earlier in 2023, former Massachusetts governor Charlier Baker has not been shy about his feelings regarding sports betting being as prominent as it is. Baker takes issue with betting on college sports in any capacity, but has recently voiced his concern over prop bets. Prop, or proposition, bets are a type of bet that allows bettors to wager on the performance of a specific individual. In college basketball, this may look like an over/under wager relating to how many points a college basketball player will, or will not, score.

In an interview with CBS, Baker talked at length about how sports betting has almost immediately altered the landscape of college athletics. Though Charlie Baker was still governor of Massachusetts and not with the NCAA five years ago, the NCAA did put up a fight against allowing sports betting through the door. Even as governor, Baker permitted sports betting to be legal but did not allow for betting on college sports in any capacity.

Worries About the Impact on Young Athletes

Charlie Baker and others are concerned about prop bets because of the “pressure created when college student see friends and classmates risking large amounts of money on their performance.” Baker might know a thing or two about this considering he played collegiate basketball at Harvard.

The reason for Baker keying in on prop bets is also because these types of bets are more susceptible to rigging. If a player knows his friend bet thousands on him to score under 25 points in a basketball game, it is not difficult to see how he might be able to help his friend out. This is just one of countless hypotheticals as it relates to prop bets and NCAA sports. Once you add in the fact that on any given night there are dozens of college basketball and football games going on, it is easy to see why players might think they can fix the outcome of prop bets without anyone being any wiser.

Charlie Baker’s aim is to ask states where NCAA prop betting is currently legal to pass legislation banning it. He has not divulged much in the way of how he plans on accomplishing this goal, but it is something he has been set on from his first day as NCAA President.

Shane Pinto is an NHL player for the Ottawa Senators who, just this week, went from relatively unknown in the NHL to being featured in every major headline, albeit not for good reasons. The 22-year old Center was suspended by the National Hockey League for 41 games on Thursday, reportedly for “activities relating to sports wagering.”

There are still few details known about the particulars regarding what Pinto did, but we do know that the player is not going to appeal the decision. In a statement, Pinto said, “I want to apologize to the National Hockey League, the Ottawa Senators, my teammates, the fans and city of Ottawa and most importantly my family. I take full responsibility for my actions and look forward to getting back on the ice with my team.”

What Do We Know So Far?

As was mentioned above, there are almost no details known about what Pinto bet on, how much he was wagering, and perhaps most importantly whether or not he was wagering on games in which he took part. Pinto not appealing the 41-game suspension was less a product of him admitting guilt and more a part of the deal worked out between the player, the Player’s Association, and the league.

Despite the charges and suspension, Ottawa coach DJ Smith explained to reporters that the entire organization was eager to get Pinto back and to provide him with any support he might need in the interim. When Pinto’s suspension is concluded, he will be joining back up with the team right around the middle of the season. That is, if he is signed. Currently, Pinto is the last player in the NHL to be labeled and unrestricted free agent; something that did not make much sense to a lot of people until the news of his suspension broke on Thursday.

In addition to releasing Shane Pinto’s statement, the Ottawa Senators organization released a statement of their own. It read, “Shane is a valued member of our hockey club; an engaging, intelligent young man who made poor decisions that have resulted in a suspension by the National Hockey League. We know he is remorseful for his mistakes. The Ottawa Senators fully support the NHL’s rules on gambling. While saddened to learn of this issue, the entire organization remains committed to Shane and will work together to do what is necessary to help provide the support to allow him to address his issues and become a strong contributor to our community.”

Though Shane Pinto is not the first professional athlete in North America to be charged with gambling-related offenses since online sports betting was made legal by the Supreme Court, he is the first player in the NHL to be caught up in something like this. The NFL has already seen more than ten players suspended for gambling, and while Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association have not made any such allegations, there are concerns that the time will soon come. How to combat these types of issues is something that is on the forefront of every major sporting league in North America, and handing down massive punishments like the one given to Pinto seems to be the number one weapon used by the leagues for the time being.

As far as sports betting in the northeast US is concerned, Maryland is a relative newcomer with only a few years of sports betting under its belt. In terms of online sports betting Maryland’s track record is even shorter. Despite being new to the industry, Maryland has quickly broadened the reach of sports betting in the state and has most recently opened up an in-person retail location that is unlike anything else in the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia) area.

A Star-Studded Opening Event Thanks to FanDuel

At the beginning of this past September, the town of Bethesda, Maryland was abuzz with hype and activity surrounding the opening of Sport & Social Bethesda, a sports bar that had just been given a sports betting license. Sport & Social Bethesda is owned by The Cordish Companies and chose to partner with FanDuel to bring in-person sports betting to the venue.

The venue was opened on the first day of the NFL season, September 7th amid much fanfare. In addition to executives from both The Cordish Companies and FanDuel, guests were able to mingle with former Washington Redskins players like Brian Mitchell, Santana Moss, and Dexter Manley. In fact, Brian Mitchell played the role of MC for the evening, awarding giveaway prizes to guests and generally keeping the party atmosphere alive.

A New Betting Destination for Marylanders

Sports & Social Bethesda is an interesting type of facility that really does not exist in most of the rest of Maryland nor other neighboring states. Rather than being a sportsbook within a casino like you might find at nearby MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland, Sports & Social Bethesda seems more like a “night out” destination that also happens to be equipped with in-person sports betting kiosks. In addition, one of the establishment’s walls is entirely covered by screens of various sizes showing every major (and some more obscure) sporting event. For the person who may not want to deal with the casino crowds, but also wants a place to make bets and watch the games Sports & Social Bethesda is perfect.

In total, the space is over 8,000 square feet and will play host to concerts and other events in addition to serving as a sports bar. The main viewing screen is bigger than anything you will find at another sports bar and is innovative in that it can show one single game, or a plethora of different events simultaneously.

Something that does not get talked about enough is just how rapidly Maryland has expanded its sports betting footprint. In-person sports betting came first in December of 2021, but it was not until almost a year later until mobile sports betting sites began going live. Nearby Pennsylvania has had mobile and in-person sports betting for significantly longer and are soon going to boast fewer sports betting operators than Maryland. While this does not necessarily mean one state is superior to the other for bettors, it shows you plainly that Maryland is not wasting any time.