Bug on Betway Sports

There was a match listed under "Upcoming matches" which of course means that the match hasn't begun yet.

Turns out the game had already begun and had been in-play for 40 minutes. Without knowing this (as the match was listed upcoming), I betted on the losing team. Pretty soon I noticed this and contacted them via live chat, and a moment ago I got an email from them saying "You should've made sure before betting". The odds for the team I betted on were 4.xx which wasn't too high.

I confirmed that this was a bug on their website by testing it with two different browsers. I can include a screenshot if requested.

Sure we can say, that I probably would've lost the bet anyway, even if the match had started later. But if I had known that the match had already started, I wouldn't have done the bet.

Now, the question is, which one should be responsible for this?

I bet if you would have know, and made a bet on the team that was winning , they would have voided your bet. Lol

In my opinion, the prevalent point is whether the odds displayed at the time were "in-play" odds that reflected the fact that the match was 40 mins old or were the ante-post odds.

If the match odds displayed were pre kick off odds then the bet should be voided. I do all my sports betting with William Hill and this has happened to me (betting on a game listed as due to kick off which has already been played or is in-play). They void bets as a matter of course in these situations whether the bet "won" or "lost".

If the odds reflected the fact the game had started then I don't think there's a lot you can do (even though the match was in the "upcoming" section).

Hope that helps

Just an update. They gave me 10€ free bonus money. I'm not too satisfied with this.

I had no reason to believe this was in fact a live bet.

They just told me the reason why I'm not getting a refund:
"Betway is not responsible for any errors in regards to the announcing, publishing, times, results or venues displayed on this site, despite every effort being made to ensure their accuracy. It is the sole responsibility of the customer to check such information is accurate at the time of publication"

However, if the error costs them money, they are allowed to void the bet. How ridiculous.

"Palpable Error Rule: All odds, lines and handicaps are subject to fluctuation, and become fixed only at the time of bet acceptance. Where a palpable error or system failure results in an incorrect price, line or handicap taken in a bet, the bet, or that part of the bet if it is a multiple bet/parlay will be void. If the error is noticed in time, Betway.com will make reasonable efforts to contact the customer to allow the choice of placing another bet at the correct odds/line/handicap."

I'm not even sure should the first rule affect this situation since it specifies "regards to the announcing, publishing, times, results or venues".

After contacting their representative here on CM, they decided to refund my total stake. Thanks.

petr1 said:

They just told me the reason why I'm not getting a refund:
"Betway is not responsible for any errors in regards to the announcing, publishing, times, results or venues displayed on this site, despite every effort being made to ensure their accuracy. It is the sole responsibility of the customer to check such information is accurate at the time of publication"

However, if the error costs them money, they are allowed to void the bet. How ridiculous.

"Palpable Error Rule: All odds, lines and handicaps are subject to fluctuation, and become fixed only at the time of bet acceptance. Where a palpable error or system failure results in an incorrect price, line or handicap taken in a bet, the bet, or that part of the bet if it is a multiple bet/parlay will be void. If the error is noticed in time, Betway.com will make reasonable efforts to contact the customer to allow the choice of placing another bet at the correct odds/line/handicap."

I'm not even sure should the first rule affect this situation since it specifies "regards to the announcing, publishing, times, results or venues".

Click to expand...

The customer DID check, on the Betway site before they made the bet. How else could they be expected to make a more accurate check except for visiting the venue in person.

It seems they feel they can be lazy about such things because they have set up a "tails we win, heads you lose" term covering such mistakes.

As well as being lazy, such errors can be very costly as players may be able to construct a scheme to take advantage, and the sportsbook may not notice in time.

I read that there was such a scam that worked on a very small time difference, and it involved having one spy at the venue offering live coverage, and then making in play bets before the sports site had the results. The delay was only a minute or two, but it was enough to gain an edge.

I can't see this "customer should have checked elsewhere" excuse being bought by UK regulators. Checking at the point of sale (or wagering) should be what counts. Sports results are not invalidated on the whim of a particular bookie in general, it is the governing body of the sport concerned that investigates any allegation that there was a false market or betting error in a particular event, and they who declare whether the result stands, or is altered or voided. At best, different bookies deal with a sports governing body ruling in different ways, with some deciding to offer "goodwill" to customers (such as honouring BOTH results), whilst others work to the letter and settle in a way most favourable to them.