All week the NFL world has waited to hear what the league planned to do about the massive snowstorm threatening Bills-Browns in Buffalo on Sunday with reportedly six feet of snow. In anticipation of the calamitous weather, many bettors hammered the under, expecting both offenses to struggle to move the ball in the Western New York conditions.
Uh, about that.
Given the potentially dangerous situation the Buffalo snow presented to anyone trying to travel to the game (both teams, stadium workers, fans in attendance, etc.), in addition to the chaotic on-field conditions for players — the NFL officially announced Bills-Browns will now be played at the domed Ford Field on Sunday in Detroit. It probably isn’t the best news for many submitting early bets on this affair:
NFL source confirms to me Browns at Bills is being moved to Detroit.
— Tim Graham (@ByTimGraham) November 17, 2022
According to Action Network, 77 percent of all bets and 79 percent of the money wagered on the point total backed the under with the expectation the game would be held in Buffalo.
Oof, let’s unpack the ramifications and how some of the major sportsbooks are reacting.
Here are FanDuel’s rules for a situation like this:
For any team sport: if the scheduled venue is changed after a bet is placed, all bets will be void only if the new venue is a home ground of the original away team (or in the case of international matches, only if the venue changes to a venue in a different country) … Abandoned or postponed games are void unless played within the same scheduling week. In the event of a change of venue, all bets will be void. All bets on a game that is officially deemed a forfeit will be void.
Okay, so unless Bills-Browns is moved to another day, regardless of location, FanDuel bettors who tried to strike while the iron was hot should be okay with voided bets.
Here are DraftKings’ rules:
If a game venue is changed, and the home team remains designated as such, bets will stand.
Even if the game is now in Detroit, the Bills are still the designated home team, so any early DraftKings bets made on Buffalo and Cleveland stick. Meanwhile, BetGM officially voided all bets for the matchup:
Browns-Bills game being moved to Detroit.
All bets void at @BetMGM.
New game lines:@BuffaloBills -7.5
Total 48.5
Moneyline
▪️ Bills -350
▪️ Browns +280— John Ewing 🦁 (@johnewing) November 17, 2022
As did Caesars:
UPDATE: The Bills vs Browns game has officially been moved from Buffalo to Detroit. Per our house rules: “Bets placed on this event prior to the location change will be void.” https://t.co/FMvowxjtQM
— Caesars Sportsbook Support (@CaesarsHelp) November 17, 2022
And so did WynnBet. (Note: per an Action Network report, PointsBet wagers still stand.)
Per @WynnBET on #NFL Browns-Bills venue change from Buffalo to Detroit's indoor Ford Field:
"All bets are voided from the venue change."
So those are all refunds.
— Patrick Everson (@PatrickE_Vegas) November 17, 2022
Kudos to the sportsbooks who are letting bettors off the hook for an unpredictable situation like this. As for the others, allowing the snow game bets to hold up even with the location change probably isn’t too surprising, given what they’re all too happy to let bettors withstand.