Reporting Paddy Power To IBAS

I had to ask IBAS to look into a dispute with Paddy Power Online today.

The problem I have with the sportsbook is related to a wager I placed on the US Championship match at last Sunday's WWE Elimination Chamber PPV.

I gambled on Keith Lee to walk away with the strap. As we now know, Lee was unable to make the match and was replaced by John Morrison.

Matt Riddle went on to win the match by pinning the replacement.

I logged into my Paddy Power account yesterday and noticed I had a bit of cash in it. I assumed that, just like with Sky Bet and Kambi, the wagers I had placed on the match had been voided due to the advertised participants in the match having been replaced. It wasn't until late last night when I was contacted by a friend of this blog that it became clear that the bookmaker had settled the market with Riddle as the winner.

One of the betting rules on the company's website states that 'should a match have a wrestler added/removed/replaced, so that it fundamentally alters the manner of the contest, all bets will be void'. 

Knowing that rule, and considering the fact that - had Lee entered the match - there is a chance he would have been the guy who left with the strap, I thought the customer service person, and ultimately the trader, would return my stake.

I was informed that the bet would remain a loss. The operator relayed to me that the market was settled under 'ante post' rules and that those terms and conditions would have been displayed above the market. 

As someone who follows the betting, to ensure I have everything correct and can refer back to it, I take screenshots of the markets I write about. I informed the staff member that I had a copy of the page and there was no blurb that indicated it was an antepost market. 

I had wagers on The Miz to win the Elimination Chamber match that were also graded as lost. I didn't dispute those punts because I believe I lost fairly considering I thought there was a chance Miz would lose and then immediately cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase before it ended (my bet was struck before Miz removed himself from the match, but I still felt there was a chance he would become a participant via a cash-in).

I don't consider the loss on Lee fair.

The stake I am chasing is only £4 and it does seem like quite an effort to go through to get it back. What is important to me is fairness. I placed a bet on a regular match winner market. Just like any other regular match market I have gambled on in the past.

We're living in an age where advertised performers are being pulled from matches due to illnesses, injuries and even pregnancies, so I am feeling somewhat distrusting towards Paddy Power / Betfair in regards to how the firm will settle future markets in which advertised performers are replaced hours, and possibly even minutes, before the respective match.

Ask yourself this - how would the market have been settled had Morrison won?