# Las Vegas Sportsbook Betting Question
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-sportsbook-betting-question/805245
**Category:** The Game Room
**Created:** [December 24, 2017, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-sportsbook-betting-question/805245 "2017-12-24T23:30:33Z")
**Posts on this page:** 8
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@golffan1963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/golffan1963)
#### Post date: [December 24, 2017, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-sportsbook-betting-question/805245/1 "2017-12-24T23:30:33Z")
Sports book posts wrong starting time for game…say 1:00 pm, when in fact it is an hour earlier. In the time after the game started but before the posted start time, someone places a bet.
What happens? Is the sports book obligated to honor the wager if the bettor wins?
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### Author:  [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)
#### Post date: [December 26, 2017, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-sportsbook-betting-question/805245/2 "2017-12-26T01:55:30Z")
I don’t have a factual answer, but I do remember reading this story a while back (p. 106):
> **[ESPN](https://books.google.com/books?id=tcFXL_CP7-IC&pg=PA106&lpg=PA106&dq=ESPN%2Bbet%2Bgame%2Bstarted%2Bearly&source=bl&ots=Eh6S293sLX&sig=k-DbGNS4UCutukrxKdilNs6Wjs8&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjLicTSx6bYAhXJUd8KHU1-An8Q6AEIfTAJ#v=onepage&q=ESPN%20bet%20game%20started%20early&f=false)**
>
> ESPN: The Uncensored History traces the first 24-hour sports network from its inception through its evolution into a slick media outlet reaching more than 60 million homes via more than 26,000 cable providers. Entertainment and Sports Programming...
The gist of it was that a Major League baseball game began early. The visiting team (San Francisco) took a 6-0 lead before the game’s original start time. Many ESPN employees placed huge bets on San Francisco. The Giants somehow blew their big lead and lost the game, costing the bettors a lot of money.
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### Author:  [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)
#### Post date: [December 26, 2017, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-sportsbook-betting-question/805245/3 "2017-12-26T18:44:51Z")
I think the casinos can pretty much do whatever they want and void any bet for pretty much any reason.
Whadda you gonna do 'bout it?
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### Author:  [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)
#### Post date: [December 26, 2017, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-sportsbook-betting-question/805245/4 "2017-12-26T18:49:59Z")
This also happened a lot in the military (esp. the Korean War), since Armed Forces Radio would stagger the broadcast of games. I learned this from [this very realistic documentary I saw on TV](http://mash.wikia.com/wiki/Out_of_Sight,_Out_of_Mind_(TV_series_episode)) on the subject.
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### Author:  [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)
#### Post date: [December 28, 2017, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-sportsbook-betting-question/805245/5 "2017-12-28T00:31:57Z")
If the book accepted the bet, then yes, it must honor it. However, it is illegal in Nevada to accept a bet after the event has ended. The book is also under no requirement to accept the bet once the event has started, regardless of the stated time of the event.
The rules used at William Hill sportsbooks say that a bet on a game is valid if the game was played on the specified day; it says nothing about time.
[Current Nevada Gaming Regulations](http://gaming.nv.gov/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=11943)
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### Author:  [@Cugel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cugel)
#### Post date: [December 28, 2017, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-sportsbook-betting-question/805245/6 "2017-12-28T10:24:08Z")
My agency, sportsbet.com.au just nulls the result and gets its money back, and has a whole raft of conditions which allow reneging on bets. Probably similar terms for all Australian agencies.
[Section 90](https://helpcentre.sportsbet.com.au/hc/en-us/articles/115004802547-Sportsbet-Rules-Terms-Conditions#GeneralRules)
I once “won” a bet at a different joint, based on someone not scoring a goal in a World Cup. It didn’t pay out, I complained and was informed (after the fact) that if the player in question didn’t play, it didn’t count.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [December 28, 2017, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-sportsbook-betting-question/805245/7 "2017-12-28T14:46:21Z")
Does that betting agency also null bets which go their way? Automatically, or does the bettor need to do something to null it?
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### Author:  [@Cugel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cugel)
#### Post date: [December 29, 2017, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-sportsbook-betting-question/805245/8 "2017-12-29T07:05:38Z")
I think they’d probably refund automatically, it’s a pretty competitive market. They often give free bets, pay out before a result is in, and advertise heavily. So probably avoid bad karma if possible.