Sportsbook Refunds Money Bet on Adam Scott

For the second time in less than 2 months, SportsBettingOnline is refunding money to their players for a sporting event.  The sportsbook is refunding all customers who had bet on Australian golfer Adam Scott to win the British Open.  In June they refunded all players who had lost money on the Pacquaio-Bradley fight.  The fight was controversial, the British Open was not.  Adam Scott simply fell apart at the end.

I see this move less as being good guys who are concerned for their players and more being a saavy move to keep customers happy and betting on sports.  The head oddsmaker, Dave Johnson, claimed that he thought it was their duty after their players took such a bad beat.  Genius marketing and promotions.  They have gained quite a bit of attention in the sportsbetting world because of these recent refunds.  And believe me, in the competitive business of sportsbooks, they have gotten some very good PR out of this.  I originally saw this on ESPN’s website and this kind of publicity is priceless.

It had to be a tough pill to swallow on Sunday for bettors who had wagered on Scott.  He was listed at +4500 to win the tournament which would have been a huge payout.  As was also mentioned by SportsBettingOnline, since none of the favorites won the event, they did well for the weekend anyway.  It’s a brilliant move as it cost them very little and got them a thousand fold back in free advertising.