Nevada regulators sent a message to sports bettors about checking their tickets, warning that disputing wagers after they’ve lost won’t pay dividends.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board rejected an appeal from sports bettor Kevin O’Brien over a $1,008 reimbursement as part of a dispute with William Hill. O’Brien argued that the William Hill wager through the Caesars Sportsbook mobile app malfunctioned, creating two wagers without his input. O’Brien said that two parlays placed in January were registered as wagered from his account without his knowledge or input. One wager, a 5-leg super parlay of $999, had a $9,274.97 potential payout. The second wager, a $9 3-leg parlay, listed a potential payout of $55.84.
The 5-leg parlay was broken into three games.
“O’Brien asserted that he did not make the wagers, further citing that the wager amounts are uncharacteristic of his wagering patterns and history,” according to the Gaming Control Board report. “The wagers in question lost, causing those wagers to be graded as such. As to why the wagers were not brought to the attention of William Hill or Caesars staff prior to the outcome of the event, O’Brien said he was unaware of the wagers until he noticed a large sum of money deducted from his Caesars account.”
Caesars staff estimated O’Brien’s average wager to be approximately $45, though O’Brien believed his typical wager to be $20 or less. O’Brien confirmed that he only accesses the Caesars application through his iPhone and no other device, the report said.
“O’Brien stated the application uses facial recognition to sign in, making it unlikely another person could access his account through his device,” the report said. “In his testimony, O’Brien stated, ‘I can’t prove I didn’t make the bets,’ and had no further evidence in support of his argument.”
Engineer Amanda Sou, testifying on behalf of the Board, said that the location of O’Brien’s iPhone was identified through geolocation at the Peppermill Hotel & Casino when the wagers were placed. O’Brien confirmed he was at the Peppermill on the date in question, but was not using the Caesars app.
Sou said no other wagers were made during the 37 minutes O’Brien was logged into his account.
In her testimony, Tina Spickerman, Director of Trading Compliance for Caesars Digital, said no technical issues were documented when the wagers were made. “Spickerman also reiterated that the wagers were not brought to Caesars’s attention until the events concluded,” the report said. “The wagers were made on O’Brien’s account at 17:38 hours and the events concluded at 21:27 hours, according to (Board) Agent Kim Freed. In her report, Agent Freed stated Spickerman confessed she would have returned the wagers if the alleged error was brought to the attention of Caesars or William Hill staff prior to the conclusion of the events.”
In denying the appeal, Board member George Assad told bettors that when they make a wager and walk away with a ticket, they should check their tickets. And if they have a dispute or claim to make, it needs to be done before the game is over.
“I have reviewed the record and I am in agreement with my colleagues,” said Board Chair Mike Dreitzer. “The individual did nothing to support his burden. It appears to be potentially a mistake in bets on his part, but you have to bring that to the attention before the event takes place, which he did not.”
