Sportsbook Wagering Rules

Minimum length of play

For wagering purposes, unless otherwise stipulated in individual sports wagering rules, games are official after:

  1. BASEBALL (all) – five innings of play. If the home team is leading, the game is official after 4 ½ innings (this will include softball). Thereafter, if a game is called or suspended for more than 36 hours, the winner is determined by the score after the last full inning, unless the home team scores to tie or take the lead in the bottom half of the inning, in which case the winner is determined by the score at the time the game is called.
  2. FOOTBALL (pro and college) – 55 minutes of
  3. BASKETBALL (NBA) – 43 minutes of play; (College and WNBA) – 35 minutes of play.
  4. HOCKEY (US Pro) – 55 minutes of play; (Non-US): 60 minutes of ..
  5. GOLF – the results are official for wagering purposes provided that at least one round has been completed by all players in the field and a winner is declared by the tournament’s governing
  6. MOTOR RACING – All wagers will be settled according to the unofficial results reported immediately after the conclusion of the race by the governing organization. Any changes to the finishing order that occurs based on appeals, penalties or scoring malfunctions after the race has concluded, will not be recognized.
  7. SOCCER- the full 90 minutes of play plus injury time for 3-way, goal line, and totals.
  8. BOXING and MIXED MARTIAL ARTS (all) – the bell (buzzer, etc.) is sounded signifying the start of the opening round, the bout is considered official for wagering purposes, regardless of the scheduled length. For a round to be considered complete, the fighters must answer the bell beginning the next round, except for the final scheduled round in which case, the final bell signifies the completion of the round and
  9. TENNIS – at least one set of the match must be
  10. ALL OTHER SPORTS – the conclusion of the scheduled length of play or scheduled time

Other Sports Rules

Wagers and proposition bets are offered to patrons and settled throughout the duration of games and events. Patrons are advised to check the individual sports rules sections (below) for information on how wagers are settled, as Minimum Length of Play rules do not relate to all wagers offered to Patrons.

For events where all participants are not listed and there is not a Field option, all bets are action. If a customer wishes to request the Sportsbook to offer lines on a new participant, then they can do so by requesting at the window. Where possible the Sportsbook will do so within a reasonable timeframe.

Settlement Rules

BetMGM settles markets in accordance with the official rules, statistics and results as declared by the league’s governing body, unless specified otherwise in the specific sport’s betting rules.

Dead Heat Rule

A dead heat is when two or more selections tie for a given position. In racing events (Motor Racing or Athletics for example), it could be due to both competitors crossing the line at the exact same time and the judge is unable to separate them. In other events, such as Golf, a dead heat occurs when players have scored the exact same score and are therefore classified in a joint position such as joint second place.

In a dead heat for first place, the stake money on a winning selection is divided by the number of winners in a dead heat. The full odds are then paid to the divided stake with the remainder of the money being lost.

For example: Kurt Busch and Denny Hamlin have dead heated for first place in a NASCAR race. If you backed either of these drivers, you would be paid half of your stake (Sportsbook pays out half the stake for both selections).

Therefore:

$100 on Kurt Busch at +100 = Half Stake $100 = $50 at +100 = $100 returns. Or

$100 on Denny Hamlin at +800 = Half stake $100 = $50 at +800 = $450 returns.

Multi-selection Dead Heats

If there is a dead heat between multiple competitors, the following calculation applies:

The number of positions tied for, divided by the number of players tied in that position

For example:

1 Brooks Koepka

T2 Tommy Fleetwood

T2 Tiger Woods

T4 Justin Rose

T4 Jordan Spieth

T4 Rickie Fowler

T4 Dustin Johnson

T4 Rory McIlroy

In this scenario there are two (2) players in a dead heat for second place, and five (5) players in a dead heat for fourth place. If you had picked a player to finish in the Top five, then those who finished tied for second place are both winners. Your full stake would then be paid out at full odds.

However, if you had picked any of the players who finished tied for fourth place then those wagers would be settled differently. There are five (5) players in a dead heat for two (2) positions (fourth and fifth) and therefore you would be paid at 2/5 (two-fifths) of the stake.

For example, if you had $100 on Dustin Johnson Top 5 Finish at +200, your bet would be settled as follows:

  • $100 on Dustin Johnson = 5 players tied for 2 positions = 2/5 (two-fifths) stake
  • 2/5 of $100 = $40 at +200 = $120 returns

Live (In-Play) Wagering General Rules

If the outcome of a market cannot be verified officially, we reserve the right to delay the settlement until official confirmation.

If coverage must be abandoned and the match finished regularly, all markets will be settled according to the final result.

In the case of an incorrect settlement of markets, we reserve the right to correct them anytime.

If a match is not finished or played at all regularly, (for example: disqualification, interruption, withdrawal, changes in draws, etc.), all undecided markets are considered cancelled.

Postponed Matches

For postponed and cancelled matches, the following rules apply unless otherwise stipulated in the individual sports wagering rules. All bets placed prior to the scheduled start time of a match will be cancelled if the match is cancelled or postponed to a different day (local time) then initially scheduled.  All bets stand on any match that is delayed prior to the scheduled start time and takes place on the same day (local time). However, if a match that takes place within a fixed date tournament framework e.g. Olympic Games, Tennis Tournaments, European Championships Finals, World Cup Finals, etc., is postponed all bets will stand (does not apply to non-tennis qualifying matches taking place outside of the fixed date tournament framework).