The DraftKings Sports Betting National Championship was supposed to be a celebration of the possibilities for the future of US sports betting.
Instead, it ended with controversy and some participants and observers crying foul.
Sports Betting National Championship saga goes on Third-place finisher Rufus Peabody was one of those bettors unable to place his final planned bets, potentially costing him a chance at the win. Peabody was not part of the class-action suit, and said he turned down an offer “similar” to what Leong received. And because their offer was a joke. NCAAF National Championship Odds With millions of dollars wagered every season, betting on college football is one of the biggest attractions at US sportsbooks. By the time the National Championship comes around, that interest goes through the roof. Online sportsbook BetOnline has released the 2022 national championship odds, making Alabama the +350 favorite. The Crimson Tide are followed closely by Clemson at +400, Georgia at +400, Oklahoma at +600 and Ohio State at +650 to round out the top five on the oddsboard. See Odds Shark’s Best NCAAF Sites.
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Here’s a rundown of what went down, from what Legal Sports Report has been able to piece together:
DraftKings Sports Betting National Championship … before the problems
The first-ever DraftKings Sports Betting National Championship was going along just fine, for the first two days. Held in New Jersey and starting on Friday, the contest featured bettors vying for a piece of a $2.5 million prize pool.
Bettors had to be physically located in New Jersey to participate, as the contest took place entirely on DraftKings Sportsbook’s mobile app.
Handicappers started with a $5,000 bankroll to try to end the contest with the most money in their ending bankroll. Doing so would earn the winning bettor the top prize of $1 million.
You can see a blog of the action here.
On Friday night and Saturday, participants could bet on pretty much anything they wanted. On Sunday, they could only bet on the two NFL playoff games.
And that’s where the issues began.
The final day
On the final day, the New England Patriots were beating the Los Angeles Chargers badly and would go onto win handily.
But the game, which started at 1:05 p.m. Eastern time, took a long time to wrap up, so much so that it nearly overlapped with the game between the Philadelphia Eagles and New Orleans Saints, which was slated to start at 4:40 pm. Eastern. (The first game ended just a few minutes before the second.)
Impact on the sports betting contest
So what does all that have to do with the Sports Betting National Championship? Well, bettors could only place wagers involving the two NFL games. And no wagers could be placed after the start of the second game. Some players, including bettors at and near the top of the leaderboard, had their entire bankrolls in play on the Patriots game.
That meant the money was locked up, in some cases, after the start of the Eagles-Saints game. Bets on the Patriots were in some cases were quickly settled in the DraftKings’ system, but money was not credited to some players in time to wager on the late game.
One of those players was a pro bettor, Rufus Peabody — username “Opti5624” — who ended up finishing the contest in third place. He wagered his entire available bankroll on the Patriots to cover a 3.5-point spread, which they did. He was not credited with the winnings until later:
Balance $0.01. Game: started pic.twitter.com/0uPwb9Gcn3
— Rufus (@RufusPeabody) January 13, 2019
But some bettors did get paid
That, in and of itself, might not be an issue. After all, the rules of the contest clearly state that you could not place a wager after the start of the second game. That the early game would not finish before the start of the late game would have been a possibility no matter what was going on in the DraftKings’ event.
But it appears that some players were credited their winnings from the Patriots game and able to bet on the Saints game.
One example was easily identifiable from DraftKings’ own spreadsheet showing all the bets placed in the competition. The user “Moneylinemikey” bet his entire bankroll of $16,533 on a two-leg bet of the Patriots to cover the spread and over the total of 47.5 points. Both hit, netting him more than $57,000.
He then almost instantly turned around and placed two bets on the Eagles-Saints game, as shown by the spreadsheet.
The image in the second tweet below illustrates the issue:
Except he was able to cash in his LAC-NE bets *BEFORE* @RufusPeabody and put it all on those 2 bets which is oh so unfair!! 🧐@capjack2000pic.twitter.com/8fke8QGYcp
— Julien Skyfish (@TheFoodSnobFrog) January 13, 2019
DraftKings’ statement
DraftKings was clearly aware of the issue, as people on social media were loudly protesting the outcome.
Here’s a statement from a DraftKings’ spokesperson:
“The first ever Sports Betting National Championship was an incredibly thrilling event. We recognize that in the rules the scheduled end of betting coincided very closely to the finish of the of Patriots-Chargers game.
While we must follow our contest rules, we sincerely apologize for the experience several customers had where their bets were not graded in time to allow wagering on the Saints-Eagles game. We will learn from this experience and improve upon the rules and experience for future events.”
Next steps after the end of the DraftKings’ contest
So where do we go from here? It’s hard to see a great solution.
DraftKings could certainly give Peabody a million. But that might open them up to other potential issues with bettors who experienced the same payment problem.
Peabody said he would have gone on to wager on the Saints — a heavy favorite before winning 20-14 — to win the game. And that would have given him a million dollars.
I’m almost hoping eagles win right now, that way I know I didn’t get screwed out of a million bucks.
— Rufus (@RufusPeabody) January 13, 2019
Of course, the contest can’t be settled on “would haves;” but Peabody also never had a chance even to bet.
The issue likely falls to regulators, namely the NJ Department of Gaming Enforcement. The fact that bettors did not have an equal opportunity to bet in the contest on the final game will likely not sit well with them. Fines or enforcement action by the NJDGE could certainly be in play, pending the outcome of a potential investigation.
DraftKings was trying to do something different and novel with its sports betting championship. But the endgame of the contest and the logistics of running it obviously created a situation that it had not considered. Different rules might have saved it from controversy.
But those are simply excuses. DraftKings is running sports betting in a regulated market. And the way it ran the contest created an unfair advantage and disadvantage for some bettors. There probably need to be, and will be consequences.
The CFP National Championship takes place Monday with the Alabama Crimson Tide meeting the Ohio State Buckeyes for an 8 p.m. ET kickoff at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. SportsbookWire covers the game in full with college football betting picks and predictions and below, we’ll look at how to bet the National Championship between Alabama and Ohio State.
Also see:
Draftkings Sports Betting National Championship
Alabama vs. Ohio State odds, picks and predictionNational Championship predictions with Jason McIntyreAlabama vs. Ohio State: Betting odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Sunday at 4:38 p.m. ET.
Money line: Alabama -300 (bet $300 to win $100) Ohio State +240 (bet $100 to win $240)Against the spread/ATSNational Championship Television
: Alabama -8.5 (-110) Ohio State +8.5 (-110)Over/Under: 75.5 (O: -110 U: -110)Special National Championship Betting Promotion!
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National Championship betting: Money line (ML)
The money line simply asks for which team will win the game and includes the possibility of overtime.
National Championship Score
Favored Alabama has an implied win probability of 75% with -300 money line odds. Those odds can also be expressed as a fraction of 1/3 or a decimal of 1.33. It would take a $300 bet for a profit of $100 with a win by the Crimson Tide.
Underdog Ohio State’s +240 money line odds represent an implied win probability of 29.41%. The fractional odds are 12/5 with 3.40 decimal odds. A $100 bet would return a profit of $240 with an upset win.
National Championship betting: Against the spread (ATS)
The spread of 8.5 points carries equal -110 odds for both teams ($110 bet for $100 profit). Alabama will need to win by at least 9 points. Ohio State can cover its side of the spread by winning outright or staying within 8 points in a loss.
Alternate spreads exist for each half or exclusively the first quarter. The spread can be altered from 10.5 to 21.5 to make the result more or less likely for either team. The higher the probability, the lower the odds will be for a potential payout.
Increasing the degree of difficulty with a spread of -10 for Alabama to win by at least 11 points comes with more profitable odds of +100 or even-money. An Alabama win by exactly 10 points would result in a push and all bets on either side would be refunded in full.
National Championship betting: Over/Under (O/U)
The Over/Under of 75.5 asks whether the final score of the game would combine to be higher or lower than 75.5 points. Any combined score of 76 or more points (i.e., 40-36) would be a win for Over bettors. A combined score of 75 or fewer points (i.e., 38-37) would be a win for Under bettors.
Just like the spread, alternate lines are available and each team’s individual point total can be bet separately.
National Championship betting: Prop bets
Draftkings Sports Betting National Championship
Props are available in the form of Yes/No questions such as “Will there be a safety in the game?” or “Will the game go into overtime?”
These can offer much higher odds on one side or the other, but remember, the more profitable the odds, the lower the probability of that result.
National Championship betting: Live betting
BetMGM has an excellent mobile sports betting app which allows users to place bets once the game is underway. Following along and placing a bet after a big play or an injury can offer great value when disagreeing with the sportsbook’s lines.
A pregame favorite such as Alabama can suddenly come with more profitable odds if Ohio State happens to jump out to the early lead.
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