Sports Betting Rules
One thing the majority of sports bettors fail to do is to read through the rules of a sportsbook before placing a wager. The time to know the regulations of each sportsbook is before questions arise, and spending a few minutes to look over the fine print is time well spent.
Nearly all sportsbooks follow some universal rules, such as how long a game must go to be declared official, but there are scenarios that each sportsbook handles a bit differently, as well.
Universal Rules
Nearly every sportsbook will follow the same rules pertaining to what constitutes an official game. In football and basketball, this is typically within five minutes of a full game, meaning football games are declared official if 55 minutes are played, NBA games after 43 minutes, and college basketball and the WNBA after 35 minutes of play.
While this doesn't appear to be a matter of concern, there have been several cases where a game started and due to unforeseen circumstances. An example would be the 1976 football game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the College All-Star team that was called near the end of the third quarter due to a massive thunderstorm.
Although the Steelers were credited with a 24-0 victory, those wagering on Pittsburgh were not able to cash their tickets because the game didn't go the required 55 minutes.
The one sport where the official game comes into play more than any other sport is naturally baseball, where the weather can have an affect on the outcome.
The basic rule is that games are declared official at different points in the game for different wagers. For sides, games are declared official after five innings, or 4.5 innings if the home team is ahead. If you wager on the Yankees and they are leading Seattle 8-3 after five innings and it begins raining to the point the game is called, you will win your wager.
Totals and run-line bets are another matter, however, as the game must go all nine innings, or 8.5 if the home team is ahead, to be declared official. In the example between the Yankees and the Mariners, even if you wagered over 9.5 runs you would not be able to cash your ticket, since the game did not go the full nine innings. It makes no difference that there were already 11 runs scored in the game.
The same holds true for anybody betting the Yankees -1.5 runs. The game must go all nine innings or wagers are refunded.
Specific Rules
Once again, baseball plays an important part when it comes to sportsbook-specific rules, with most of these involving the starting pitchers. Most sportsbooks allow to you to specify the starting pitchers for a wager. If either starting pitcher fails to go, your wager is void.
Other sportsbooks don't give bettors the option of naming starters, or do so only for totals, although the competition between sportsbooks has made this practice pretty obsolete.
How sportsbooks handle ties on parlays and teasers is another area where the rules may differ from book to book. Most sportsbooks will simply drop the number of games in your wager, although there are some that still follow the old "ties lose" guideline. Naturally, these sportsbooks should be avoided, or at the very least, place parlay and teaser bets elsewhere.
Local Bookies
Perhaps the greatest benefit of knowing the rules beforehand is for those dealing with local bookmakers. Many local bookmakers have the habit of making the rules up as they go, depending on which ruling is the most beneficial for them.
In our example between the Yankees and the Mariners above, a local bookie could very well tell the under bettors they lost, if they had more bets on the under than the over. If there were more bets on the over, naturally it became no action, as the game didn't go the required nine innings. No doubt, some local books told the under bettors they lost and the over bettors they had no action.
Again, parlays and teasers are another topic that should be discussed with a local bookmaker before placing your wager. There is nothing more frustrating than finding out a wager you thought you had won is considered a loss by your bookie because of their interpretation of the rules.
Those dealing with online sportsbooks won't run into as many of the same problems, as the rules should be posted on the website for everybody to see.
Spend a few minutes looking over the rules and regulations from your sportsbook. There will be fewer surprises and when it comes to sports betting, it's like the old commercial that stated, "the best surprise is no surprise."
