Last Updated on 2025-06-07 by igamingdirect
“I followed the rules and still lost”, Navy vet says BetMGM pulled $389,000 win just before payout.
Mark Aiello, the Navy veteran from Roselle, Illinois, placed four sharp parlay bets on a Chicago Bulls game during March Madness. Every leg hit. His reward? Nearly $389,000 in winnings. He was on cloud 9 until just moments before the game tipped off, BetMGM Voids Winning Wagers, citing a pricing error.
Aiello filed a complaint with the Illinois Gaming Board. However, in a twist that has outraged many in the betting world, as the Illinois Gaming Board sides with BetMGM, ruling that the voided wagers were legitimate under the operator’s terms and conditions.
Aiello’s dream payout was gone in an instant and with it, his faith in legal sports betting. only to be told the voided bets were valid under sportsbook rules. His dream payout was gone in an instant and with it, his faith in legal sports betting. In the end,
What Happened? The $389,000 Parlay That Vanished
On March 2, 2025, Aiello placed four $500 parlay bets through the BetMGM app. The bets focused on player props, rebounds and assists, in a Bulls vs. Pacers game. The odds were long (350-to-1), but every leg hit. He beat the odds. He played fair.
Then it all disappeared.
Before the game began, Aiello noticed the bets were grayed out in the app. No alerts. No explanation. Later, BetMGM claimed the odds had been posted in error and invoked their right to cancel under their “obvious error” clause.
Aiello, stunned, filed a formal complaint with the Illinois Gaming Board. After review, the board sided with BetMGM stating the pricing had not been properly updated and the company was within its rights to void the bets.
“If I had lost those bets, they would’ve taken my $2,000 without blinking,” Aiello said. “But since I won, suddenly it didn’t count.”
The “Obvious Error” Defense as BetMGM Voids Winning Wager
According to BetMGM, the bets were canceled due to an “obvious error.” Essentially, the sportsbook claimed the odds were incorrect. Either mispriced or not properly updated and therefore invalid. While mistakes can happen in any betting operation, what stunned Aiello was the timing and handling of the situation.
One of his bets had been reviewed and accepted by a BetMGM trader, a manual process meant to ensure risk management oversight. Yet, even with human eyes on it, the company still voided the wagers several hours later.
“An error? Then why did they accept it and let it ride for seven hours?” Aiello asked. “If I had lost those bets, they would’ve had no problem taking my $2,000.”
What BetMGM’s Rules Actually Say
Digging into BetMGM’s official terms and conditions, there is a section that allows the company to cancel or void any wager deemed the result of an “obvious error” or “palpable error.” This includes mistakes in odds due to technical glitches, human input errors, or system failures.
Here’s the issue: the definition of “obvious” is intentionally vague and entirely at the discretion of the sportsbook. There are no clearly defined thresholds (e.g., 10x odds, +350 vs. +35, etc.) to determine what qualifies as such an error.
In Aiello’s case, BetMGM argued that the offered odds were the result of outdated or incorrect data feeds, and therefore should never have been available to begin with. The Illinois Gaming Board, upon reviewing Aiello’s complaint, sided with BetMGM. They affirmed that the bets were placed during a window when odds were not “properly updated.”
However, after this fiasco that could have been handled better and will take a public relations blow from it. Needless to say, they will need of a good sportsbook marketing agency to do damage control for them!
A Case for BetMGM and the Illinois Gaming Board
To be fair, BetMGM and the Illinois Gaming Board weren’t acting out of malice. It was rather from an obligation to maintain integrity within a tightly regulated gambling market.
According to industry standards, sportsbooks are expected to void bets if they are made under circumstances where a technical or human error results in odds that are “clearly wrong.” This rule is designed to protect the broader betting ecosystem, preventing situations where individuals might take advantage of data feed delays, glitches, or other backend issues.
In Aiello’s case, BetMGM stated that the odds posted on the bets were the result of a system error, and that the problem affected multiple markets and not just his. From a risk management standpoint, this could have potentially exposed the sportsbook to massive losses from bets placed under faulty data.
The Illinois Gaming Board reviewed Aiello’s complaint in full and confirmed that the odds were posted in error and had not been properly updated when the bets were accepted. They ruled that BetMGM acted within its rights, per the law and terms that every bettor agrees to when signing up.
The Power Imbalance in Sports Betting
The crux of this controversy boils down to one thing: imbalance of power. Sportsbooks can void bets for a range of loosely defined reasons, while bettors are held to strict standards with no wiggle room. Once a bet is placed and confirmed by the system, bettors are locked in. But sportsbooks? They have a “get out of jail free” clause anytime something doesn’t go their way.
For Aiello, this wasn’t just a losing bet, it was a missed opportunity to change his family’s life. As a veteran and father, he saw those winnings as a way to secure a future for his daughter. Instead, he’s left with frustration and distrust toward an industry that’s supposed to operate fairly and transparently.
“I’m not trying to cheat anyone,” he said. “I played fair, and I won. But they didn’t want to pay.”
Gambling regulatory bodies and lawmakers were advocating legal gambling saying that it would protect consumers from getting ripped-off at offshore sportsbooks. However, it seems like that may not be the case even with licensed sportsbooks in the U.S.
Offshore Sportsbooks: A Potential Alternative
This is where offshore sportsbooks like BetOnline.ag come into play. While they operate outside U.S. jurisdiction, they’ve built reputations over decades of honoring bets—even in cases where odds may have been misposted.
At sportsbooks like BetOnline.ag, it’s rare for bets to be canceled once accepted. Their customer-first philosophy tends to lean toward paying out wins, even if they take a loss on a bad line. That’s because in the competitive offshore market, reputation and trust are everything.
Yes, using an offshore sportsbook comes with its own set of risks. Lack of local regulation, fewer legal options in case of disputes but when it comes to honoring bets, many bettors feel more secure offshore than with U.S.-regulated books that void wagers after the fact. It’s no wonder some people are considering opening an offshore sportsbook to give players a more equal field.
BetMGM Voids Winning Wagers – Final Thoughts
Aiello’s experience has struck a nerve in the sports betting community, where players especially smaller, recreational bettors, often feel powerless against corporate giants. As legal sports betting continues to expand in the U.S., this case serves as a stark reminder that consumer protections in the industry are still very much a work in progress.
Until regulations are tightened and clearer standards are established, bettors may find themselves in the same frustrating position Aiello did: beating the odds, only to get beat by the house rules.
