Sportsbook to Refund Packers Punters

While Seattle Seahawks' shocking last minute win against the Green Bay Packers was still echoing around the US media Russ Candler, the chief of Sportsbook, announced that "the right thing to do" for his company is to refund bettors on the Packers. In his announcement, Candler said: "I can't stand winning unfairly so I am going to give the punters their money back." The Packers led 12-7 prior to the play, and that would have covered the 3- or 3.5-point spread that most sportsbooks had for the line, but Russell Wilson's last-second Hail Mary gave the Seahawks the win and turned the winning bet around 100 percent causing big losses for many Packers fans. The controversial call on the final pass into the end zone allowed Seattle to win the game despite the Packers kicking off as a 3 point favourite. At the same time over 70 percent of the wagers in Las Vegas were on Green Bay, and provided an interception for the final call the sportsbooks would have paid out $7.6 million to Packer backers and collected $3.6 million on Seattle betters. Actually, it happened all way round so the bookies gave $3.2 million, but earned the $8.4 million wagered on the Packers.