Marathonbet - Not paying - "Palpable Error"

[guerrix]

Hi, would like to know if someone can give some more info if this that i will report its a usual thing in marathonbet.
I made two small bets (thank god it where small), one of 21.27€ on odd 3.35 , it was away team to win in 1st half, the result was 0-1 in the end of the first half, won and when i check i get void. The other was of 5.7€ for a odd of 2.12, end of the game result, won and got void again.
Contacted their live support (rude i think, since didn´t let the conversation end to send me the transcript that i will post next:
Chat 2014.03.09
Anita
22:54:12 Hello
Anita
22:54:17 Could you please confirm your full name, e-mail address and your full date of birth?
Vitor
22:54:41 Vitor ******** - email address - 18/`++/++++
Vitor
22:55:10 lake stated in the initial message, want my account to be with the correct balance
Anita
22:56:20 can you please confirm your city of birth
Vitor
22:56:58 ********* - Porto - Portugal
Vitor
22:57:03 address current :
Anita
22:57:07 Thank you
Vitor
22:57:09 want that too?
Anita
22:57:12 Your account is open
Vitor
22:57:25 yes
Anita
22:58:02 Is there a problem with your balance?
Vitor
22:58:32 yes... bets i made, won and not showing on my balance Single @ € 21.27 (€ 21.27) * Total Price: 3.35Single @ € 5.70 (€ 5.70) * Total Price: 2.12
Anita
23:00:00 Numbers please
Vitor
23:00:36 numbers?
Vitor
23:01:09 #17 and #18... is this?
Anita
23:03:05 Thank you
Anita
23:03:18 there was a palpable error with this event and all bets have been voided
Vitor
23:03:44 "Palpable error"? Define palpable error...
Anita
23:04:15 PLease see our rule 7.1.3
Anita
23:04:27 - Url Removed -
Vitor
23:04:41 so... Any bet that i win can this rule be used?
Vitor
23:04:49 Just a yes or no question
Anita
23:05:45 Not unless there is a reason
Vitor
23:06:22 I asked if this rule can be used in any bet... A starait yes or No is fine for me
Anita
23:07:04 Not unless there is a reason
Anita
23:07:08 Is there anything else I can help you with at this time?
Vitor
23:07:24 so u dont want to answer to what i´m saying starit? ok...
Vitor
23:07:45 can i ask if this conversation can be logged to my e-mail?
Anita
23:08:02 Yes of course

So, what it seems to me is that if you win some bet, and they dont want to pay, they say that ther´s "palpable error", and after i ask what is this palpable error, i got no answer.
Can any one explain me what is this palpable error thing, since they didnt.

 

[guerrix]

Contacted IBAS - Independent Betting Adjudication Service to check rhis, that this is almost never used by bookies...

 

[Trevrizent]

The so-called 'palpable error' rule was introduced by bookmakers decades ago (long before internet betting came into being). It was essentially a 'get out of jail' card enabling bookmakers to protect themselves from their mistakes and/or the mistakes of their staff. For example, suppose you are in a betting shop and you want to place a bet on a horse whose current price is 11/8 (2.375). You go up to the counter and tell the cashier that you want to take the price of 11/8, but the cashier accidentally writes 111/8 instead on your slip before then accepting the bet. This would be regarded as a clear or 'palpable' error, since the horse in question was never available at 111/8 and the cashier simply noted the price incorrectly. In such a case the customer could have no legitimate complaint if they were subsequently paid out at 11/8, the price they originally intended to take when they went up to the counter. Unfortunately not all cases are as clear cut as the example I've just given and the 'palpable error' rule soon fell into disrepute for a number of reasons. The main problem was that there was never an industry-wide, universally accepted definition of what constituted a 'palpable error' and, just as importantly, what didn't (I would be the first to admit, however, that coming up with such a definition would have taxed even the finest minds in the betting industry). This meant that each bookmaker effectively created their own version/definition of the 'palpable error' rule and some less-than-reputable operators soon began using it as an excuse to void perfectly legitimate winning bets - hence it fell into disrepute and, as IBAS noted, is relatively seldom invoked these days.

Obviously I don't know the detailed circumstances of the bets you placed, although odds of 3.35 for an away team to be winning at half time don't strike me as a particularly obvious candidate for the 'palpable error' rule.

 

[quincunx]

Marathonbet's odds are often as much as 10% higher than the next best in the market.If their odds in this case were clearly longer than that,then they were reasonable in applying their 'palpable error' rule.If not,then they weren't - unless there was something else obviously wrong with them,such as the total odds percentages adding up to less than 100% [for example,3.1,3.1,3.1].
Even if you could argue,my advice is not to bother.Just keep taking advantage of their odds when they are longer,and you should soon make the money back.

 

[guerrix]

The problem is not the value of the bet... The problem is the lost of confidance in this bookie...
Closing my account there, don´t want this to hapen again.

 

[Trevrizent]

Fair enough. There is no point betting with a bookmaker in whom you have lost confidence and wondering whether, whenever you have placed a winning bet, that bet is then going to be voided by the bookmaker.