Ethan Miller/Getty Images(LAS VEGAS) — Large bets for for Gennady Golovkn’s title fight against Canelo Alvarez have to be refunded after a controversial decision left bettors and bookmakers disappointed.
Oddsmakers believed Golovkin had won the fight heading into the decision. But when the decision was announced, judge Adelaide Byrd had seen things differently. She had Alvarez an easy 188-110 winner which was a difference from the cards from judges Dave Moretti and Don Trella. The fight was ruled a split draw.
After the decision was given, lines formed at sportsbooks, with bettors looking for refunds. Straight bets on the winner of the fight were refunded in Las Vegas. Wagers on the method-of-victory props were not refunded.
There were some long lines, with some of the customers happy to get their money back and others disappointed,” Frank Kunovic, director of specialty games at Caesars Palace, told our partners at ESPN. “They weren’t yelling at us, but I think they were frustrated like we were about the decision.”
Caesars reported taking a six-figure loss on the draw.
Las Vegas sportsbook operator CG Technology said it took more than a million dollars in bets on the fight, including five wagers on Golovkin ranging from $50,000 to $80,000. The largest bet the book took on Alvarez was $20,000.
Statewide, bookmakers estimated $20 million to $30 million was bet on Golovkin-Alvarez in Nevada, roughly one-third of how much was estimated to have been bet on the Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor fight.
“A lot of people got refunds,” Westgate SuperBook vice president Jay Kornegay said. “But thank God it wasn’t a Mayweather-McGregor draw. We’d be refunding for a week.”
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