Casinos, Bettors Take Hit From Confusing Football Result

A late touchdown – and the ensuing confusion over the final score – in last weekend’s college football game between the University of Southern California (USC) and Utah has led to numerous issues between sportsbooks and gamblers over who won and lost bets on the game.

The problems started right at the end of the game. USC led Utah 17-14 in the waning moments of the game, with Utah attempting to kick a game-tying field goal. USC blocked the kick and returned the ball for a touchdown, making the score 23-14. However, USC was penalized for excessive celebration, and officials on the field ruled that the touchdown didn’t count – leaving the final score as 17-14.

But two hours after the game, Pac-12 conference officials noted that the penalty was a “dead ball” foul, and that the touchdown should have counted. Once again, the final score was 23-14.

This led to immense trouble for casinos that had taken bets on the game. USC had been favored by about 8.5 points, meaning that the final touchdown was the difference between a spread line bet on Utah winning, and one on USC winning.

This led to a lot of confusion between players and sportsbook officials. Many of the issues were resolved based on house rules, with some casinos switching to paying USC bettors as soon as the score was reversed, and others sticking with the score as reported on the field at the end of the game. Had the change in score occurred on a later day, it would have been honored by very few sportsbooks; however, the fact that the change occurred within hours complicated matters.

Confusing matters further was the fact that Pac-12 officials later clarified that officials actually made the correct ruling on the field; it was simply an error in communicating the score at the moment the game ended.

Jay Kornegay, Race and Sports Executive Director at the Las Vegas Hilton, said that because players were confused, and his casino’s rules meant they paid at least some winners on both sides of the bet, nobody really won due to the muddled result.

“It’s unfortunate for the bettors and it’s unfortunate for us,” Kornegay told the Washington Post. “We’re the ones that are paying it out both sides.”