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Illinois Gaming Regulators Say BetMGM Rightfully Voided $389,000 in Winning Sports Bets

The Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) has supported online sports betting operator BetMGM in a case brought by a consumer who claimed his winning bets were not honored. 

In a report by Casino.org from April, Chicago local Mark Aiello placed multiple wagers on the NBA match on March 2 between the Indiana Pacers and Chicago Bulls. Aiello was tempted to bet on six player props related to rebounds and assists upon observing the lines were relatively high. 

Some of Aiello’s wagers succeeded, but upon checking his BetMGM Sportsbook app, the $500 bets he believed had earned him approximately $389,000 were marked as voided, and the initial amounts were refunded to his account. BetMGM referenced its house rules permitting the cancellation of bets in cases of an “evident mistake of incorrect or inflated odds.” 

Aiello submitted a grievance to the IGB to receive his prizes. The state gaming authority, on the other hand, supported the online sportsbook, which is authorized to offer mobile betting in Illinois via its collaboration with Par-A-Dice Hotel & Casino. 

BetMGM Appropriately Canceled Wagers 

In its order released on June 3, the IGB specified that Aiello made four single-game parlays. The four wagers, each $500, were made on odds of +17500, +25000, and two wagers at +35000. 

Approximately an hour later, the BetMGM trading team identified that the odds were wrong and ought to have been +1860, +2700, +3200, and +3600. Aiello’s four wagers were canceled 11 minutes prior to the start of the Bulls-Pacers game. BetMGM disclosed the “evident mistake” and the cancellations of bets to the IGB.

"In this case, the evidence demonstrates that a human error led to BetMGM making the pricing available to patrons at a level that significantly diverged from the intended pricing for the March 2, 2025, Bulls-Pacers game. The evidence further shows that the incorrect pricing was not a question of poor judgment by BetMGM in its assessments of likely statistical outcomes, but instead was the result of a specific, identifiable failure by BetMGM staff to follow the necessary and established procedures for pricing updates,” the IGB wrote in its order dismissing Aiello’s complaint.

“This conclusion is corroborated by the fact that all meaningful actions BetMGM took to correct the error occurred prior to the commencement of the subject Bulls-Pacers game. Thus, all evidence is consistent with a good faith effort by BetMGM to correct the human error it made before the game,” the ruling continued.

Pacers Continue to Compete 

Although Aiello's Bulls did not make it to the NBA Playoffs, the Pacers hold an unexpected one-game advantage in the NBA Finals over the favored Oklahoma City team. Indiana won Game 1 in a dramatic 111-110 finish. 

Indiana continues to be the underdog in the series. In tonight's Game 2 in Oklahoma City, BetMGM has the Thunder favored by 10.5 points, with the moneyline set at OKC -600, Indiana +425. 

Oklahoma City remains the favored team in the series even after losing Game 1 on their home court. The Thunder are favored at -350 to secure the franchise’s first NBA championship since moving from Seattle in 2008. The Pacers have odds of +275 to secure their initial NBA title.