Sportsbet has paid out Murray backers for his match against Nadal

Sportsbet has paid out all bets for Murray against Nadal in his Australian Open quarter final, despite the fact that Nadal had retired injured.

I had taken 1.84 odds with Murray for that match, so this was great news for me. I was feeling very pleased with myself as I went to bed on Tuesday night with Murray two sets to love up against Nadal. I then woke to hear that that Nadal had retired injured and my bet had been refunded rather than paid out. Sportsbet has since taken the unprecedented step of paying out Murray supporters while refunding Nadal bets, at a cost of over $100,000.

Off the top of my head I think Betfair honours all bets regardless of retirements, while other bookmakers cancel bets when a retirement occurs. I would prefer to see bookmakers refund bets if the winning player retires through injury, and honour bets if the losing player retires injured. I’m grateful that Sportsbet made an exception for this match, because Murray was cruising at two sets to nil and 3-0 up at the time of Nadal’s retirement.