bet365 Court Ruling Could Change How Bookmakers Defend Bet Settlements

A court in São Paulo has ordered bet365 to pay out winnings on bets involving player assists that the operator had previously settled as losing wagers. The ruling was reported by Brazilian lawyer Bruno Rodrigues.

The dispute concerned two incidents in Italian Serie A matches: Fiorentina vs. Lecce and Parma vs. Bologna. The bettor argued that the plays in question should have been recorded as assists and therefore counted toward the settlement of his bets.

To support his case, the bettor submitted official Serie A match reports and video footage of the incidents. He argued that both plays met the criteria for an assist.

In court, bet365 relied on data from Opta, the sports data provider it uses to settle bets.

The operator argued that one of the disputed plays was a cross without an intended recipient, while the other was not classified as an assist due to the circumstances of the play.

One of the disputed incidents, which bet365 described as a “cross without an intended recipient”:

Bruno Rodrigues’ comments on X:

The court did not challenge bet365’s use of Opta data. However, it found that simply referring to a decision made by an external data provider was not sufficient.

According to the court, the bookmaker should have provided a technical explanation of why the specific incidents did not meet the criteria for an assist.

The court ultimately found that bet365 had failed to provide sufficient justification for how the bets were settled and ordered the bookmaker to pay the bettor the amounts due on wagers that had previously been graded as losses.

The ruling could have broader implications for disputes involving bets on player statistics.

In effect, the court found that a bookmaker’s reliance on an external data provider does not remove its obligation to explain why a specific incident was classified — and the corresponding bet settled — in a particular way.