Sportsbook Injury Refund Policies Work Overtime in NFL Week 1

• With key injuries to several NFL stars in week one, sportsbook refund policies had an early workout
• Fanatics Sportsbook reported it refunding nearly 80,000 bets and $1.5 million to customers after the Chiefs Xavier Worthy suffered an injury
• Fanatics Sportsbook, DraftKings, FanDuel, and ESPN BET all have injury protection policies this season

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With several early injuries to a number of notable NFL athletes during week one, the new trend of sportsbook injury refund policies had stringent workouts during the first run of games.

Fanatics Sportsbook, FanDuel, DraftKings, and ESPN BET all refunded prop bets placed by customers on Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy and 49ers tight end George Kittle after the two stars suffered injuries in the first quarters of their respective games and could not return.

Injury protection policies have become the latest crazy for sportsbooks, giving customers assurances that prop bets will be refunded or voided if an athlete is injured early in a game.

Fanatics Sportsbook Led Way With Fair Play Policy

Fanatics Sportsbook was the first major sportsbook to debut injury protection for its customers, introducing its Fair Play Policy prior to the start of the 2024 NFL season. At the time of its introduction the Fair Play Policy fully refunded prop bets to customers if an athlete was injured in the first quarter of a game and did not return.

The policy was a popular one, with Fanatics Sportsbook extending its service into the 2024 NBA season.

Fair Play came back for the 2025 NFL season, but Fanatics Sportsbook extended the policy to cover injuries not just in the first quarter, but for the entire first half.

It’s been a boon for customers so far, Fanatics Sportsbook announced in a release. Following Friday’s first quarter injury to Chiefs wide receiver Worthy against the Los Angeles Chargers, the sportsbook refunded prop bets to nearly 80,000 customers for a total of $1.5 million. The same happened Sunday afternoon, as the sportsbook refunded prop bets to customers after 49ers tight end Kittle suffered an injury in the first quarter against the Seattle Seahawks.

Since its 2024 creation, Fair Play protection has saved more than 500,000 bets for customers.

Other sportsbooks have followed suit this season, instituting their own player protection services for prop bets.

Books Heavily Refund Prop Bets This Weekend

FanDuel, DraftKings, and ESPN BET instituted their own injury protection policies leading in the NFL season. All three sportsbooks refunded player prop bets after the injuries to Worthy and Kittle.

FanDuel’s Bet Protect program refunds all straight player prop bets to customers within 24 hours. Additionally, for parlays or same game parlays, the sportsbook re-prices the bets with new odds and the parlay/same game parlay will be paid out in bonus bets if the legs is the only losing part of the bet.

Xavier Worthy was injured in the 1st quarter of KC vs LAC and did not return to the game. Any related player props will be covered by Bet Protect.

Check your email for more details or visit https://t.co/AAXcYtEu2U pic.twitter.com/k8WhZXWjKj

— FanDuel Customer Support (@FanDuel_Support) September 6, 2025

ESPN BET’s Injury Insurance program, which went into effect on Sept. 4 and will end on Dec. 31, 2025, also refunded bets from the weekend. Like Fanatics Sportsbook, ESPN BET’s program covers player injuries during the entire first half of a game.

Tracking George Kittle's status closely.

If he’s out for the remainder of the game, our Injury Insurance kicks in. Don't sweat it.

— ESPN BET (@ESPNBET) September 7, 2025

DraftKings has done the same with its Early Exit program, but not just with football. While it did refunds prop bets on NFL injuries in the first half of week one, its injury protection program extends to other sports leagues as well.

The Early Exit program debuted in August and extends to athletes in MLB, NBA, WNBA, NFL, and others. Here are the full details of the program.