Penn Sports Interactive Voids Thousands of Dollars in Improperly Placed Player Prop Bets
By Robert Linnehan in Sports Betting News
Published:
- The Massachusetts Gaming Commission approved Penn Sports Interactive voiding nearly $50,000 in player prop bets made on an NFL game this past Sunday
- Penn Sports Interactive claimed that a technical error led to several player prop markets remaining open after they should have been closed
- The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board also allowed PSI to void bets
Improperly accepted player prop bets by Penn Sports Interactive has led to several gaming commissions allowing the company to void thousands of dollars in wagers.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission allowed Penn Sports Interactive (PSI) to void more than $47,000 in player prop bets placed on an NFL game this past Sunday after a technical error allowed some users to place bets on player prop results that were already concluded. The commission approved PSI’s request to void 257 NFL player prop bets made by 59 users, totaling approximately $47,759.94, on Sunday, Sept. 17’s Arizona Cardinals vs. New York Giants matchup.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board also confirmed that it will allow PSI to void the improperly placed player props and have suspended the accounts of all impacted patrons until resolution.
PSI also requested cancellations from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE), though a decision has yet to be made.
The bets were placed through PSI’s Barstool Sportsbook.
How Did This Happen?
PSI did not respond to a request for comment regarding this story.
In a reported submitted to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, PSI noted that a technical error occurred with part of its software, leading to 10 different market types with a total of 14 different market names left open for betting approximately 90 minutes after the outcome of the props had already been concluded.
PSI is currently licensed to offer sports betting in 16 states.
According to PSI, a Barstool Sportsbook software system could not process the NFL’s “half sack” statistic, as it could only process whole numbers. This caused a breakdown of the program which allowed several other player prop markets to remain open when they should have been closed.
A reader sent us a text message of an example of one of these improperly live markets:
A text conversation sent from a reader. An example of one of the improper player prop bets taken by Penn Sports Interactive during the Cardinals vs Giants game this past Sunday. pic.twitter.com/DZst6SilF4
— RLinnehanXL (@RLinnehanXl) September 21, 2023
Just before kickoff of the afternoon NFL games, Penn Sports Interactive’s platform experienced a significant increase in activity, which they claimed created latency in certain monitoring displays. Once those latency issues were resolved, Penn Sports Interactive confirmed the player prop betting anomalies.
PSI noted that a solution to the technical problem would be available before Thursday Night Football kicks off.
While the MGC did unanimously approve the bets be cancelled, Commissioner Nakisha Skinner warned them of future self-imposed occurrences.
“If this happens again I may not be so sympathetic to their request,” she said.
Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board Allows PSI to Void Bets
A representative from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board confirmed with Sports Betting Dime that similar player prop bets were improperly accepted by PSI in the Keystone State, but did not have details on how many were placed or for how much money.
“Barstool experienced a technical error which allowed patrons to place certain prop bets on this game after the results were known. They suspended the accounts of all impacted patrons pending resolution. They filed a report with us, and upon review, we did not object to their course of action to void the impacted wagers in accordance with their house rules,” the representative said.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board said PSI is in the process of voiding all bets, unsuspending the accounts of affected customers, and providing notice to customers detailing the cause of the suspension, the representative said.
PSI Requests Cancellations in New Jersey
A New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement representative told Sports Betting Dime that PSI has also requested cancellations of player prop bets for the matchup in the Garden State as well.
PSI filed an incident report with the DGE as the first step to voiding the wagers.
“The Division is aware of the action taken by Barstool Sportsbook to void certain prop bets on the Giants v. Cardinals game on Sunday, September 17, 2023. The requisite incident report was filed. The Division has not been made aware of impact on any other games,” the representative said.
No decision has been made regarding the request and the division did not disclose any additional details.
Regulatory Writer and Editor
Rob covers all regulatory developments in online gambling. He specializes in US sports betting news along with casino regulation news as one of the most trusted sources in the country.