Sportsbooks Void And Refund Bets After Historic Day In Sports

• Sportsbooks across the country will have to refund, void and alter NBA bets after teams protested by not playing playoff games on Wednesday.
• Oddsmakers are uncertain how long this will affect sportsbooks especially after reports of NBA teams considering forfeiting the rest of the season.
• Many other leagues protested with the NBA on Wednesday causing more betting lines to be affected from this historic day.

LAS VEGAS – After the announcement that all Wednesday’s NBA playoff games have been postponed due to social justice protests, BetMGM and other sportsbooks will have to void and refund all impacted bets.

Sportsbooks are being forced to void and adjust the many NBA playoff bets including parlays and futures which has left oddsmakers very uncertain of the future of all bet for the rest of the season.

The Milwaukee Bucks decided to not take the court on Wednesday for Game 5 of their playoff series versus the Orlando Magic which resulted in every other NBA team scheduled to play to also opt-out of playing.

The Bucks and the other teams are protesting the shooting of an unarmed black man named Jacob Blake at the hands of the police. The shooting happened on Sunday in the Bucks home state of Wisconsin.

The protests have taken the league by storm and there have even been reports that the Los Angeles Clippers and the Los Angeles Lakers are considering forfeiting the rest of the season.

The protests have put many sportsbooks in an unclear position moving forward. With having to refund and alter parlays and other playoff bets, many legal sports betting operators will be dealing with the effects of this day for a while.

Others Leagues Are Following Suit

NBA betting odds are not the only ones that will be affected by the Wednesday protests. After the NBA games were announced as postponed, teams and players in the WNBA, MLB, MLS, and USTA also decided not to play their scheduled games.

Three Major League Baseball regular-season games were also postponed on Wednesday in response to the shooting of Jacob Blake.

The Cincinnati Reds at the Milwaukee Brewers, Seattle Mariners at the San Diego Padres, and the Los Angeles Dodgers at the San Francisco Giants were all said to be canceled hours before their scheduled start time.

“Given the pain in the communities of Wisconsin and beyond following the shooting of Jacob Blake, we respect the decisions of a number of players not to play tonight,” said the league in a statement. “Major League Baseball remains united for change in our society and we will be allies in the fight to end racism and injustice.”

The WNBA joined the protest by not playing their scheduled games along with the Washington Mystics making a statement by coming to the court with shirts that spelled out Jacob Blake with seven bullet holes in the back to represent how many times he was shot.

Even USTA’s Naomi Osaka announced Wednesday she will not be playing in the Western & Southern Open semifinal match on Thursday to continue the protest of the shooting of Jacob Blake.

Right when sports betting seemed to be back in a good place from the COVID-19 hiatus, these protests have had a huge effect on the sports and sports betting world. Millions are now watching, waiting, and wondering what will come of this unprecedented day in sports.

News tags: BetMGM | Cincinnati Reds | Jacob Blake | Los Angeles Clippers | Los Angeles Dodgers | Los Angeles Lakers | Milwaukee Brewers | Milwaukee Bucks | MLB | MLS | Naomi Osaka | NBA | Orlando Magic | San Diego Padres | San Francisco Giants | Seattle Mariners | USTA | Wisconsin | WNBA