Casino closes before MLB game finishes, irking sports bettors

The Los Angeles Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies played a 16-inning gem on Tuesday night that highlighted one downside of casino-based sports betting.

Unlike online sports betting, where payouts are largely made automatically within minutes of a final result regardless of the hour, land-based casinos have employees make manual payouts. These employees have scheduled shifts, closing duties and checklists, and they need to get home. Those things being the case, they aren’t going to stay up all night waiting for the result of a seemingly-endless game.

The marathon game between LA and Philly saw regular-starter Vince Velasquez come out of the bullpen on two days’ rest to pitch one scoreless inning in the top of the 16th. That made him the pitcher of record when Trevor Plouffe launched a three-run shot for the win in the bottom half of the inning.

The problem for sports bettors?

Those that bet on the Dodgers had their bets settled in the casino’s favour. But those that bet on the Phillies to win at New Jersey’s Meadowlands Racetrack couldn’t collect. Unfortunately, the result was so late that the ticket-window agents had already done their cashouts.

FanDuel Sportsbook is the company in charge of the Meadowlands Racetrack. Kevin Hennessy, a company spokesman, offered a comment on the matter.

“The FanDuel Sportsbook’s business hours of operation last night were to 1 AM, as clearly posted throughout the facility. Once 1 AM hits, our cages are closed. We cannot take wagers or pay out wagers after that time.” Hennessy said.

He added that there wasn’t an issue with the cash being on property and Hennessy welcomed patrons to return with their winning tickets or to mail them in.

Since Major League Baseball games hardly ever end in ties it was only a matter of time before something like this happened. For those that left without their winnings, it will be an annoyance but so long as the sportsbook pays out the next time its open then it’s not much of a controversy.