Lost in the chaos of last night’s controversial replay review during the nationally televised Phillies-Braves game that propelled the visitors to a 7-6 victory is that the decision caused a huge swing in bettors’ fortunes at sports wagering apps like DraftKings Sportsbook.

With the Braves and Phillies tied in the ninth, Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm was at third with one out. Didi Gregorius lifted a shallow fly ball to left field. The Phillies gambled by sending Bohm to the plate. He was called safe on a bang-bang play, though it appeared his left foot never touched home plate. However, replay review upheld the call on the field.

Braves manager Brian Snitker went crazy. Braves fans threw trash on the field. Twitter went nuts. And bettors who backed the Braves to complete the series sweep probably had a few choice words for Major League Baseball’s replay review system.

After the game, Phillies manager Joe Girardi said he thought Bohm hit the plate with “the skin of his toe,” while Bohm himself pointed out with a smile that he was called safe and that’s all that matters.

Given this was the Sunday Night Baseball matchup, the game received added attention, and also likely received more betting action, too. Fortunately for those who backed the favored Braves, DraftKings Sportsbook came to the rescue shortly after the game.

As for why DraftKings would do this, the answer is pretty simple.

Legal online sportsbooks have been known to issue refunds on games featuring bad beats or controversial calls from time to time in order to create goodwill from both current and prospective users. Current bettors may be more inclined to stay at DraftKings rather than shift their money back into a different app like FanDuel because of the gesture, while the company also has an opportunity to appeal to new players.

Plus, stories such as this one help generate free publicity. Really, it’s a win-win for both bettors and sportsbooks.

However, what’s interesting in this particular case is that the controversial replay call didn’t exactly turn a surefire Atlanta win into a loss. Had an out been called, the game simply would have moved into the bottom of the ninth in a 6-6 tie. Perhaps the Braves would have walked it off, but that outcome was certainly no guarantee.

Typically, these bad-beat refunds are issued within 24-48 hours of a game’s completion and are received in the form of site credit.

DraftKings Sportsbook currently offers new players 100-1 odds on any MLB team to record at least 1+ hit in any game this month. You can get that offer here.

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