I was recently reminded of a very simple premise in this game. If you place a bet that cant win, it shouldn’t be able to lose either. There tends to be a fairly unique set of circumstances around these bets these days.
Most non starters have bets voided/refunded. The one I was reminded of involved Ante Post horse racing and horses being included in the market who should never have been included in the first place. Lets say the race is only open to 3 year olds and a horse that is 5 years old has been included. The market will have the rules ‘all bets stand run or not’ or something similar. If a 5 year old was included in this market then it was clearly an error on behalf of the bookmaker or exchange. There is an onus on the operator to ensure their markets are run and setup properly. In this case if the bookmaker or exchange haven’t refunded your bets challenge them. You will get your money back. IBAS will rule in your favour. You have to be clear though that the horse couldn’t possibly win because it wasn’t eligible to run in that race. Not just didn’t get in.
Another good example would be in a market such as who will win the 2024 US Presidential market. Lets imagine Betfair added Liz Truss to the market. If you had bets on her then the bet should be voided/refunded, as she clearly isn’t able to be the Next President. You have to be a natural born citizen of the United States to run for office. The bet simply couldn’t win and should never have been offered as an option in the first place.
The rules are not always quite as black and white as they seem. Never be afraid to question something that just seems wrong. As a general rule if your bet cant win then you wont be able to lose either. Oh and don’t do stupid things like backing Liz to be the next President!
ProPunting 