New Jersey sportsbook PointsBet has announced it is to refund all spread and money line bets made on New Orleans Saints in Sunday’s NFL Conference final.
The refunds will be made in the form of bonus bets, PointsBet said on Monday, just seven days after it had launched its first US sportsbook.
It joins current market leader FanDuel, DraftKings, Play Sugarhouse, StarBets, 888sports, MGM sports, William Hill, and Caesars in offering both Betting office and online wagering in New Jersey.
Clearly made to have an early impact on a market that in its first six months saw more than a billion dollars wagered, PointsBet said it was making the refunds out of sympathy for their punters who had lost money due to a controversial refereeing decision that allegedly cost Saints a crucial victory.
If you saw the game in which the Los Angeles Rams edged the Saints 26-23 to win a place in the Super Bowl, you may have noticed that when Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman delivered a big hit on Saints receiver Tommylee Lewis there were twin infringements.
One was for the helmet-to-helmet engagement, the other for pass interference. But none were given and the Rams went on to drive the field, tie the game and then win in overtime.
Saints head coach Sean Payton is reported to have claimed that the NFL admitted to him in a phone call that at least one of the two penalties should have been called.
PointsBet, which was founded in Australia and has been operating there since 2017, announced the launch of its online and mobile New Jersey sports betting platform on December 17.
This after it had established its first US office in Jersey City in November and finalized partnerships with the State’s Meadowlands Racetrack and – looking to the future – with the Tioga Downs Casino in New York where sports betting is still illegal.
It has also signed up NBA Hall of Famer Allen Iverson and former NFL All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis as brand ambassadors.
In its launch press release, PointsBet said it would be using a new “high-risk, high-reward” betting format it calls “PointsBetting” to help it stand out from the New Jersey crowd.
“If a user bets, say $10 on the over, and the total ends 10 points over, that nets the user $100,” it said in its press release
Punter will still be able to make fixed odds wagers which give a simple win-or-lose scenario, PointsBet added.
Its New Jersey sportsbook is available on web, iOS, and Android and along with major international sports like soccer, tennis, and golf, punters will be able to place bets on all the major US professional leagues such as the NFL, the NBA, the NHL, and MLB.
Bets can also be placed on US College sport other than on colleges in New Jersey which are still off limits to NJ sports punters.
“We’re extremely excited to bring PointsBet’s premium and game-changing sportsbook and signature betting options to the US,” PointsBet’s US CEO Johnny Aitken says in the statement.
“By offering some of the world’s sharpest betting offers and prices, we have the back of all sports bettors, no matter how sophisticated they are, and we’re serious about offering a one-of-a-kind VIP betting experience.”
Canada’s the Score is expected to be the next off-shore Sports betting operator to launch a sportsbook in flourishing New Jersey.
