How to Cancel Your Bet at a Sportsbook

There will come a time in your sports betting career where you may second guess a bet that you placed. Maybe you placed that bet on an impulse, had too many margaritas, whatever the case. Now you want it erased. Can you do anything about it?

Anyone who has ever tried to contact a sportsbook to cancel a bet knows the answer to the question “How do I cancel my sports bet?”. The simple answer is you cannot. Sportsbooks do two things: 1) They book your bet. 2) They pay you if you win. That is it.

There is something you can do minimize the damage of an ill placed bet however. You can simply bet the other way. Yes, you will lose the vig in the process, but that 20 or 30 bucks is worth getting out of the terrible bet. Look at it as a “surrender” payment.

The only time betting the other way is not advised is when the line has moved drastically. If it moves half a point or a whole point that is no big deal. You can buy a point or two at most top sportsbooks. But if it moves a lot, your goose is cooked. Hang on tight and hope for the best. Sometimes the team will still cover the original line ever after a major change in the starting line-up.

I know that here at SBA even we have been guilty of jumping the gun on placing a bet early, without waiting long enough to see if players clear covid protocol. But factors like this break both ways. Both team are susceptible to players being out with covid. Covid is just yet another factor sports bettors have to factor in to when and how they place their bets.