Here's an Online Sports Betting Tip: Read the House Rules

You recently signed up for one of the amazing legal online sportsbooks we promote here on Dimers.com.

You are having a great time, taking advantage of all those great bonuses, and experiencing the wide world of sports wagering in an entirely new, convenient way.

It is kind of like unboxing that new 80-inch 4K ultra high-definition television on Christmas morning. All you want to do is plug it in and experience the magic. 

But wait! Did you read the manual?

Dimers.com contributor and handicapper of more than 25 years Robert Williams explains the importance of reading the fine print.

U.S. sports betting gross revenue cleared $3bn in the year to June 2021, the third year of the post-PASPA era. Huge growth in addressable online market since the onset of COVID-19 is emphasised when you add iGaming - combined OSB & iGaming GGR rocketed to more than $5.5bn. pic.twitter.com/K4NkapWWiO

— Daniel Stone (@DanielStoneGC) August 5, 2021

If you want to be a successful on-line, in-app, or even in-person sports bettor, it is time to start caring about the small print – the House Rules posted by every book at its physical location or on its app.

There is a lot of important information in there that, sooner or later, will impact whether one or more of your bets are winners or losers. You don’t want to be surprised. 

Flashback 27 months ago. As the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of games in the United States, online sportsbooks scrambled to fill the void with all kinds of sports like table tennis, international hockey and baseball and even soccer from places that most of us would be hard-pressed to find on a globe. Be honest now. Could you name one Belarusian soccer club before 2020?

Belarusian Soccer Execs Pop Champagne On New Mega Yacht To Celebrate Wave Of Increased Popularity That Will Surely Last Forever https://t.co/IAh2FNLyjo pic.twitter.com/ZaJr61PPA4

— The Onion (@TheOnion) May 4, 2020

Early one winter morning, I was intrigued by the international hockey offered by one of my books. I saw a total of 4.5. Both teams seemed to be very high scoring. Wow, only 4.5, I thought to myself. I bet the Over. When the game was 2-2 about five minutes into the third period, I stopped paying attention. I had a winner, right? Easy money.  About four hours later I checked my account balance. No change. I checked my graded wagers. A loss. 

Searching for an answer, I checked the House Rules. I felt a pit in my stomach as I read that international hockey totals would be graded on regulation time only.

It was an expensive lesson to learn. Always read the House Rules. I can almost guarantee that you will learn something new in the 10 minutes it takes to read them.

All sportsbooks post the House Rules somewhere on their apps. From the home screen, look for a tab called Legal, Sports Rules, House Rules, or something similar. Read them for every sport you bet – this will help both you AND the sportsbook avoid frustration.

You will have a better understanding of exactly what you are betting, when your result is considered official, when a game becomes no-action, how overtime is handled, and other factors that impact who gets paid and who doesn’t. 

So read the rules. Trust me, the books want you to be well-informed before you make your bets. It’s not like they are trying to fool you. The last thing they want is to have disappointed bettors calling customer service, which inevitably happens when new - and sometimes even seasoned - players bet without reading the rules.

The most important aspects of the House Rules can be divided into four categories. There are others, but these are the ones that impact sports bettors most frequently.

When does a game or match become official?

This rule is especially important in baseball (weather), soccer (weather and crowd disruptions), and tennis (injuries). While other sports are less likely to have disruptions, there are minimum times that must be reached for games to become official for wagering purposes. These are rare but arise several times per season due to things like power outages and serious injuries. 

Major League baseball bets on sides become official after 4.5 innings if the home team is winning and five innings if the away team is leading. Totals don’t become official until 8.5 innings if the home team wins and 9 innings if the away team wins. Therefore, an OVER 9.5 on a game called after six innings with a final score of 10-9 is no-action and you get a refund. Bets on either team, however, are official. 

Games that are tied after five innings and then become delayed by rain are considered suspended and different books have different ways of dealing with them. 

As for soccer, most books don’t consider a match to be action unless 90 minutes have been completed. However, I have dealt with a few books that only require 88 minutes to be finished. Knowing the soccer timing rules of different books has helped me get several sizable refunds over the years. 

We will take an in-depth look at the importance of tennis rules in a bit.

How is overtime handled?

For most sports, goals in overtime count towards the final graded outcomes for sides and totals. We have already reviewed the importance of House Rules concerning overtime in international hockey.

Soccer is the other sport where it is critical to understand the difference between regulation and overtime results. All soccer sides, totals and props are graded on the regulation 90 minutes plus injury time (also called stoppage time or added time).

Injury time usually lasts between one and six minutes and any goals and stats compiled during this period do count toward the final graded result.

However, in some tournaments and playoff scenarios where a winner needs to be determined, ties are broken with Extra Time - this usually consists of two 15-minute overtime periods. Extra Time does not count towards final graded outcomes at any book. The only time Extra Time will decide your fate is if you make a “Team to Advance” or “Team to Lift the Trophy” wager. These are the only soccer bets that are dependent on Extra Time.

What if the date or location of the match changes? 

This has become a common occurrence during COVID times. Check the rules of your book as policies vary greatly.

What if there is a change in the official score – or in an official statistic - after the match has finished?

Most books state that once the result has been declared official, changes to the final score will not be recognized for wagering purposes.

However, in instances where an obvious error has occurred, most books reserve the right to delay declaring a game as official to make sure they pay the correct side.

Still, occasionally, a scoring change will occur after a game has been graded. Call up customer service and point out the change. Books aren’t obligated to pay you, but most will in the name of good customer service.

Get in the habit of checking scores and prop results using several sources and then comparing them to your graded tickets. I usually find at least one ticket a month that was graded incorrectly.

Earlier this week, I had over 9.5 corners in the United States vs. El Salvador soccer match and my ticket was graded as a loser even though there were 10 corners. One call to customer service corrected the problem within 10 minutes. 

One symptom of Covid no one talks about is betting the over under of corner kicks on a daytime soccer game.

— jack (@jackaroninchz) January 19, 2022

There is another very important reason to read and understand the rules: They can give you a little extra edge over the house. One of my favorite sports to bet is tennis because you can find weak lines and false favorites.

This is because there are thousands of knowledgeable handicappers and traders for major events like football and basketball, but not too many for sports like tennis - especially once you start talking about players who aren’t in the Top 200. 

Two of my regular books have dramatically different House Rules when it comes to tennis. At one book, a match needs to be completed in order to be action. At another book, only one set needs to be completed for action. 

If I like a player who is coming off an injury and I think there is a chance he will retire during the match, I will bet him at the book where I will get a refund if he retires.

In a scenario where I am betting against a player coming off an injury, I will make the bet at the book where the match becomes action after one set so I can get paid if the injured player gets behind and retires.

Little decisions about where to play a bet based on House Rules can give you that little extra edge in the battle to beat the book. 

You get win money #sportsbetting on tennis. One edge is to bet on an injury. Often times the live betting machine doesn’t pick up and still offers numbers you can take advantage of like I did today pic.twitter.com/wcUC8miXku

— Bigbetnocap (@bigbetnocap) September 15, 2021

Finally, the tennis examples remind us of one more key point – Review the House Rules at least once a year. Books change rules periodically and you always want to be up to date.

A few years ago, one of my books changed their tennis rules so that no match was Action unless it was played to completion. Previously, only one set needed to be completed. House Rules are always evolving, and your handicapping needs to do the same.

There are many exciting aspects of sports betting. Let’s face it, reading rules isn’t one of them. But by taking the time to be an informed shopper, you will ultimately have a better betting experience.