The major sports betting operators in Ontario acted swiftly to void all bets made on the Monday NFL night game between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals after Damar Hamlin suffered a sudden cardiac arrest on the field.
Ontario is the only province in Canada with an open, competitive, regulated sports betting market. The NFL is among the most popular sports when it comes to wagering there, with the Bills ranked as one of the most-bet teams.
With Monday’s game canceled and talk now that it won’t be re-scheduled (the league would rule it a no contest or a tie), sportsbooks reacted with alacrity.
DraftKings announced, “With the NFL announcing that the Bills-Bengals game will not be resuming this week, per our house rules, all wagers on the game that have not been determined, such as spreads and money lines, have been voided.”
PointsBet Canada quickly and quietly voided all bets on the game, a spokesperson said.
Likewise, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, voided all bets on the game, with the exception of those that were “unconditionally determined.”
Player accounts with Proline+, the OLG’s sportsbook, were adjusted according. Proline players will need to present their ticket in-store to receive a refund.
A spokesperson with NorthStar Bets said all bets have been voided, referencing the following rule: Unless otherwise specified, a typical NFL week/round schedule is considered as running from Thursday to the following Wednesday, as per local stadium time. Any events/offers not completed within the aforementioned timeframe will be settled as void, except for those offers the outcomes of which has already been decided and could not possibly be changed regardless of future events, which will be settled according to the decided outcome. Bets referring to events which have been rescheduled within the same week/round will remain valid as much as said events are played within timeframe above.”
It was the same situation at FanDuel and BetRivers.
“With the NFL’s announcement that Buffalo versus Cincinnati will not be resumed in Week 17, all open wagers have since been voided,” a spokesperson from BetRivers said.
FanDuel made it unanimous. “All wagers that had not been settled prior to the suspension of the game were voided. Any voided wagers were returned to the player’s accounts on Jan. 3.”
