Bettors holding promising futures bets in Ontarios are wondering what's happening with their wagers after April 4. Earlier this week, it was announced that betting sites operating in Ontario must settle futures wagers made by Ontarians or in Ontario before April 4.
What does that mean to bettors? Well, if you're holding an Auston Matthews MVP ticket at a great price from earlier in the season, you might be out of luck as it might get voided before April 4. But the same holds true for futures tickets that will likely lose — so if you're holding a Knicks NBA title ticket, you'll likely get refunded for that as well.
Covers is working to find out what Ontario betting sites are planning in Ontario and any positive or negative effects their decisions could have on current wagers or wagers made before April 4.
Ontario operators plans for active futures markets
| Betting site | Futures wager decision |
|---|---|
| bet365 | UPDATE: Launching new site. Existing futures bets will be voided with stakes returned |
| Coolbet | Pending bets to be voided. Successful futures rewarded with non-withdrawable credit. |
| Unibet | Pending bets to be closed and funds returned to account |
| Sports Interaction (SIA) | TBD |
| bet99 | TBD |
| Betway | TBD |
| LeoVegas | TBD |
| 888sport | TBD |
bet365
In an update to their plan from earlier in March, bet365 is telling Ontario customers that futures bets going passed April 3 at 11:59 p.m. ET will be voided with the original stake amount returned to their withdrawable funds on the site on.bet365.ca.
Until the deadline on Sunday night, bettors can cash out of existing futures bets, including wagers where the cash-out value is now higher than the original stake.
Coolbet
Coolbet has stated they are working on solutions for their customers and will communicate their decisions as soon as possible.
“We’re really excited about the opportunity to work under the iGaming Ontario license and at the same time we want to make sure that our customers are made whole on any bets they had with our brand,” Kris Abbott, head of North America for Coolbet told Geoff Zochodne of Covers.
A post appeared on their website on Friday, March 25 indicating that "all pending bets on Coolbet.com for Ontario users must be either resulted or voided."
Any futures wager not settled before the deadline of April 3, 2022, at 11:59 PM ET will be voided for Ontarians using Coolbet. They aren't leaving bettors high and dry, however. Coolbet will be tracking what the users bet behind the scenes and if the voided future turns out to be successful, the bettor will receive non-withdrawable site credit in lieu of their regular winnings:
Additionally, Coolbet says that for season-long prop bets that can "reasonably be expected to win," they will grade these as winning bets before they officially reach their conclusion. Season win totals and other such bets fall into this category.
Unibet
Unibet has elected to block its current site in Ontario, and instead send Ontarians to a province-specific version of their site. Customers will be allowed to opt-in and Unibet will migrate their funds to the Ontario site. Prior to April 4, customers can make withdrawal requests from Unibet as normal. Prior to migration, any pending bets will be closed and funds returned to the users' accounts.
What about other sites?
Bettors who currently wager at other sites that currently operate in the grey area in Ontario will likely be unaffected by this ruling as those sites do not have plans at this time to enter the regulated sports betting market. However, you'll want to take caution in betting with those operators as they will be considered unregulated betting sites as of April 4, 2022.
Covers' Community Discord
Are you in Ontario? Come join our Ontario Discord channel to chat with Covers in real time to get all the information you need to know ahead of and during launch week.
