GLOBAL.SPORTSBOOK.COM REFUND DECISION ASTONISHES MANY

Bad referee calls? They have always existed; they are part of the game as much as a touchdown is part of football. Being a referee is not an easy job because the pressure is enormous: The cameras, the press, the fans, players who are twice your size and are mad...you name it. Under those circumstances you are prone to make mistakes. It´s easy to trash talk a referee from the stool of a sports bar or from your comfy living room couch, but for 99% of us we have to admit that if we were in the referee´s shoes we would do a dismal job.

But there are bad calls that make it to the sports history books. The infamous call that resulted in the controversial win of the Seahawks over the Packers last Monday probably made it to the top 10 worst calls in football. Everybody was understandably mad about the whole issue. It was obvious that the replacement referee didn´t know the rules. The TV presenters keep replaying the video over and over and everyone who is famous gave his opinion. But for the linemakers the perspective was different. Seattle was an underdog and this bad call represented an opportunity for easy cash that many books, including the most respected ones in Las Vegas, didn´t hesitate to take.

The trading management at Global.Sportsbook.com took a different path and sided with the bettors who felt wronged and decided to refund all losing spread wagers at the sametime that paid that game´s winning wagers. The Sportsbook.com Trading Director Russ Candler said: “I couldn’t believe what I was seeing; the whole world was laughing at the on field decision. The punters got mugged – I can’t stand winning unfairly so I am going to give the punters their money back. It’s the right thing to do.”

This decision surprised many, including a Canadian football fan who tweeted about it and generated a viral response that eventually attracted the attention of the New York Times , CBS Sports , The Bleacher Report and many other news outlets.

I can assure that it´s not nice for any company to make a hard decision about losing profit. Sportsbooks are businesses like any other. They have to pay bills and they´re online to make money, but it looks like doing the right thing, even if it involves losing money, is very good for business. I guess the old Twain´s 19^th century quote still applies today and you can even apply it to sports betting: Do the right thing. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest.