Official betting refers to wagers based on the outcome of games that are sanctioned by a sports league. It includes bets on if, moneylines, totals and run lines.
Moneylines become official once a game has gone five innings (or if the home team leads after 4.5 innings). In contrast, wagers on over/under, team totals and/or run lines don’t become official until the teams have finished nine or 8.5 innings.
Dead Heat Rules apply. If the team with the highest scoring inning finishes with the same score as the other team, it is settled as a tie.
7 inning games – “6.5 innings rule”: For bets on run line/total runs to have action, the game must go at least seven full innings (6.5 innings if the home team is ahead). In addition, other markets below that are offered in 7 inning games will be settled based on the 6.5 innings rule, as well.
Player props are bets on specific players that will be in the starting lineup for a given game. These wagers have action if the player(s) are in the starting lineup, and the game becomes official.
Other statistically dependent bets have action if the statistics are available from the league’s official website, or by the official statistical provider of the league. If the statistically dependent market is not settled from these sources, a new reputable source of data must be used to settle the bet.
The battle for control over data and what data is required has emerged as a primary front in the effort to shape US state and federal sports betting policy. The NBA and MLB are urging regulators to mandate the use of official league data, while the American Gaming Association has largely supported private commercial agreements. This quest for an official data mandate has supplanted the integrity fee as the leagues’ preferred method to earn their share of the sports betting gold rush.