- A bettor on X believes there should be stricter regulatory enforcement on cash out offers that are well below market values.
- The discussion started with his +6000 futures bet on Illinois to win the college basketball National Championship, which he believes has an undervalued cash out offer.
- Illinois is currently +425 to win it all and -135 to advance to the championship game.
CHAMPAGNE, Ill. – Sportsbook cash out offers are a constant topic of discussion in the sports betting community, but one bettor on X went viral for raising the question of fair market value regarding his Illinois college basketball futures bet. He regarded his legal sports betting cash out offer as “predatory” and “well beneath market values”, which raises the question; should sportsbook cash out offers be fair market value?
Cash outs are considered predatory because they often offer a number below the fair market value, which can be calculated using the original total payout, the early cash out offer, and the implied probability of the bet hitting. Sportsbooks offer players a chance to take their money and run, but they only offer a percentage of the fair value payout (anywhere from 70% to 90%) since they know that they have the leverage.
Illinois Futures Bettor Attacks “Predatory” Cashout Offers
In the case of the Illinois bettor on X, he placed a $2,500 wager for Illinois to win the National Championship at +6000 odds, which would payout $152,500. Ahead of Illinois’ Final Four matchup as a -135 favorite against UConn, the cashout offer stands at $21,167.06.
What even is probability? Either it wins or it doesn’t.— Seth Burn (@SethBurn) March 31, 2026
The bettor said that “There should be stricter regulatory laws against the predatory practice of cash out offer amounts by retail sportsbooks being well beneath market values,” and later emphasized that the cash out options are predatory to those without the resources to hedge the bet. After a discussion between the user and Jeffrey Benson, Director of Operations at Circa Sportsbook, they agreed that the cashout should be somewhere between $25,000 and $28,000, yet the offer stands at $21,167.06.
For players without the resources to hedge, arguing that the cashout should be worth fair market value is logical. Offering 100% fair market value on all cashouts for futures/parlays would lead to many more longshot bets at Bovada and other online sportsbooks.
