The NCAA tournament has been a mostly chalk affair with a handful of signature moments. Saturday’s Elite 8 matchup between Virginia and Purdue brought us our first legitimate buzzer-beater and a major step in Virginia’s redemption story.
New Jersey sportsbook offers refund after wild Virginia-Purdue finish
Purdue just missed the huge upset, but their financial backers will still cash in.
Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports
It also brought glory to Virginia bettors and pain to Purdue bettors. Purdue opened as high as a 5.5-point underdog, but early money quickly pushed it down to four or 4.5 points, according to Odds Shark. Virginia took home a five-point victory, but Virginia’s buzzer-beater for force overtime will leave Purdue bettors (and general fans) wondering what could have been.
It’s only fitting then that the folks at PointsBet sportsbook is back with a Good Karma Payout. Their “Karma Kommittee” announced on Sunday morning that they will refund all Purdue single bets on the moneyline and +4.5 point spread bets in full. If you had Purdue in a parlay, you will not receive credit. PointsBet CEO Johnny Aitken had this to say about the decision.
“The Karma Kommittee ultimately viewed that for Purdue not to win or cover the +4.5 spread was a bad beat of incredible magnitude. We simply had to rule on the side of Good Karma.”
This is the latest effort in their attempts to build up some consumer loyalty with a unique offering that other sportsbooks are not providing. The Australian-based sportsbook launched in the growing New Jersey sports betting market last year, and they have offered several Good Karma Payouts to date. They offered it back in January after the New Orleans Saints lost to the Los Angeles Rams on a missed penalty call, and most recently they offered a refund to UCF moneyline bettors following an excruciating loss to Duke.
This kind of move costs PointsBet in the short term, but if they develop some loyal customers out of all this, it could prove to be a solid longterm investment. New Jersey has emerged as the second biggest sports betting market behind Nevada following legalization last year, and the market is quickly saturating. A sportsbook can stand out with quality odds, but this is another unique way to stand out from the crowd.
