How a Winning Sportsbetting Ticket Almost Wasn’t Worth the Paper It’s Printed On
Yesterday, I went to cash a winning sports betting ticket, and almost didn’t get paid.
So, what exactly was the problem?
The ticket had faded badly and wasn’t completely readable. Accordingly, the teller had no other option to call his sportsbook manager who then went to considerable trouble to locate the record of my original bet so I could collect my winnings.
Let this be a warning.
Apparently, most Nevada casinos print sports betting tickets on thermal paper. This is a special kind of paper that’s coated with a chemical that changes color and sometimes even fades entirely, when exposed to heat. In other words, when you make a wager at a Nevada sportsbook, a ticket gets printed out which lists the official record of the wager. However, over time the ticket begins to fade. Sometimes the ink discolors so badly, it’s no longer readable.
It’s tough enough beating the sportsbooks without the added aggravation and fear that a ticket might not be redeemable. Many readers will recall the distressing story of my $5,000 casino chip being confiscated at the Las Vegas MGM (to this day, the issue was never resolved and I was out five grand).
READ THE LAS VEGAS SUN ARTICLE ON THIS CONTROVERSY HERE
I have to wonder why casino sportsbooks would do such a thing, using ink of such poor quality that the very real possibility exists a winning ticket might not be cashed. Casinos wouldn’t intentionally try to increase their margins by resorting to such dubious practices, would they? Sure, only a small percentage of tickets fade so badly they can’t be read, but every penny the casino doesn’t have to pay out to a winner counts towards bottom line profit. That’s crooked. In an industry with so many expensive amenities catering to gamblers, I wonder why sports betting tickets are the exception. It does make you skeptical.
Several years ago, I was doing my taxes and had a large amount of write-offs in losing sports betting tickets. I kept all my betting slips for the year tucked inside a large manila envelope, which was sealed and filed away. When the time came to add up my wins against losses, I was shocked to discover that perhaps half the tickets were no longer readable. Bar codes had disappeared. Many of these tickets would have been worth several thousand dollars had they won. What if I discovered a stray that I had mistakenly thought was a loser? Would I be able to read and later redeem the ticket for my rightful winnings? I seriously doubt it.
What was most alarming about my most recent encounter was, I made the football wager about 10 days earlier. Yet within the short span of only about a week and a half, the ink almost completely faded. Had I waited another week or two, perhaps the ticket wouldn’t have been readable at all, and I would have been shafted and shit out of luck.
I asked the sportsbook manager about this problem. He was forthright in his explanation, that tickets fade badly and quickly when exposed to heat (especially in Las Vegas where temperatures routinely exceed 100 degrees). Using an extreme example to my make point, I asked the manager what would happen if I placed a sports betting ticket on the dashboard of my car, leaving it exposed to the Las Vegas sun. “It would be completely white within a few days,” he said.
“Would I still get paid,” I asked?
“Not if we can’t read it,” came his reply. The manager noted there’s usually a way to look up the record of all wagering transactions. But it’s not easy, and never a sure thing. “Sometimes, it’s like finding a needle in a haystack,” he admitted. Those were his exact words.
Fortunately, my wager was easy to look up. I remembered the exact date when the wager was placed, and (lucky for me), it was for an unusual amount of money. I remembered having only $840 in my pocket that afternoon, so that was the (somewhat odd) amount wagered, which was easy to flag by computer. But what if instead, I had bet $110 on the Green Bay Packers? How many of those wagers were made last week? Hundreds? Thousands? Had that been the amount of my bet, I’d probably still be holding onto a worthless blank sheet of white paper.
Frankly, I find this practice negligent at best, and downright deceptive at worst. Many sports bettors probably don’t know the limited shelf life of these tickets, which can sometimes be less time than a head of lettuce stays in a supermarket. Licensed Nevada sportsbooks have an obligation to provide materials to the betting public which are not subject to deterioration which could lead potentially to deprivation. I strongly suggest the Nevada Gaming Board institute new regulations which protect the integrity of all these wagers and better serve the interests of the betting public.
Moreover, I strongly suggest that all sports gamblers take note of this warning and be very careful about they way they handle the betting slips. The winning ticket inside your pocket might not be worth the paper it’s printed on.
Postscript: Smart suggestion by Ernst-Dieter Martin, who just so happens to be my webmaster — always take a cell phone snapshot of your sportsbetting tickets.
Another: From noted tax accountant and gambling tax specialist Russ Fox who posted on Facebook: “Nolan Dalla‘s point is well taken–and it’s even worse for taxes. An audit won’t happen until 1-2 years *after the return is filed*, so potentially up to 3 years after the bets were made (and 4 years for California). I strongly recommend you scan all your receipts, betting slips, etc. as soon as you can. It’s not only betting slips that are printed on thermal paper–some casinos use them for poker tournaments, many stores use them for receipts, etc.”
This is all true, but the situation is not quite as dire as one might expect from this posting. First, Hanlon’s Razor certainly applies here. The sports books aren’t printing tickets on thermal paper because they want them to fade. They actually don’t. They use thermal paper because (a) they’ve used thermal paper, like, forever, and (b) when it comes to anything other than TV screens, they’re the biggest cheapskates in the world, ESPECIALLY when it comes to technology.
Second, as many complaints as I have about sportsbooks, they are (at least with most bettors) sincere about trying to match missing or illegible tickets with the folks who make them. You can help guard against this by KEEPING A GOOD RECORD OF YOUR BETS. Also, this is a compelling argument for having and using your players card when making these bets, and I strongly recommend that recreational bettors do this.
Third, I’ve had a pile of season win total tickets in my life. Never once have I had a problem with their legibility. Why? Because as soon as I make them, I put them in a protective container and store them in a (relatively) cool, dry place. Nolan, while you are generally a smart and well-educated individual, (here it comes) every now and then you exhibit a blind spot that I find baffling. Does your betting slip need to come with the warning “Do not store this ticket in direct sunlight?” While we’re at it, “Do not expose ticket to open flame, unless it’s part of a teaser wheel, in which case, same difference,” just to head off next week’s rant. This is the reason we have warnings on vending machines that you shouldn’t tip them over on top of yourself. Nolan, you live in Las Vegas, you know you shouldn’t store ANYTHING on the dashboard of your car.
Finally, at most sports books tickets are typically good for one to two months after the even for which they’re written. Again, except for SWT and futures bets, you’re not supposed to hold on to them for very long. These things don’t need to be etched onto a granite tablet for them to survive long enough for them to be cashed IF YOU’RE NOT A DOPE ABOUT STORING THEM. Besides, I’ve seen some of your bets, my friend. Their impermanence works to your long term benefit.
Nolan Replies: A few points…..
1. This column is intended as a WARNING for people who don’t have much experience with this kind of thing. Blaming the victim is hardly a responsible retort.
2. The M Casino where this wager was made DOES NOT allow the rewards cards to be used, thus eliminating that suggestion. One presumes that not all NV sportsbooks allow the option you suggested.
3. Finally, accidents happen. People forget things. Me included. We leave $20 in a pants pocket and it gets washed. A sports ticket gets mishandled. While sportsbooks bear no responsibility for these kinds of things, it would seem incumbent on casinos to provide better quality slips, which would partially address the accounting concerns raised by Russ Fox (see end of my article). Saying, well casinos are just cheap and want to cut their costs is a pretty lame excuse and frankly, I’m surprised to read your stance, especially when the cost of one chandelier in the lobby would offset the cost of printer paper for six months in the sportsbook.
— ND
I hate to get into these back-and-forth things online, but since I’ve been specifically asked, I’ll make a response once.
There are two different issues here with regard to sports tickets. (1) What should casinos do, and (2) what should bettors do.
(1) Yes, casinos shouldn’t use antiquated technologies everywhere. However (a) nothing I do or say is going to change this fact and (b) sports betting ticket printers are SOOOOO far down on my list of things casinos should do with their money that would benefit both them and their customers that it’s really not worth mentioning, especially since being even a little careful with the tickets will mean you have no problems, and even if you do lose those tickets, it’s possible to recover from this.
Your first issue in your response: Suppose someone takes $840 in cash out of their pocket and sets fire to it. Then suppose I roll my eyes at them when they are horrified they’re out $840. Am I blaming the victim? The casinos victimize their customers way too often. This is just not one of those times. IMHO you’re inappropriately playing the victim card here.
Second issue: It’s true that not all sports books support the use of player cards when making sports bets. So, I’ll amend my statement to say that recreational bettors should consider using their players card when they bet when that option is available to help guard against future problems.
Your third issue: Sure, I’ve had money go through the wash, what does that have to do with anything? Are you suggesting that casinos should print their tickets in indelible ink on cloth-stock so they can survive a trip through the laundry? If not, then why use this example?
Also, I’ve never put an $840 sports betting ticket through the wash. Why? Because I don’t treat $840 sports betting tickets the same way I treat a $20 bill. Why not? BECAUSE IT’S WORTH $840 AND NOT $20. I wouldn’t store an $840 laptop on the dashboard of my car in Las Vegas, why would anyone even CONSIDER doing the same with a sports betting ticket worth the same amount? This is a valuable, ostensibly bearer instrument, what does it say about you if you need someone to tell you to treat it as such? Should I blame the casinos for that? If you want to, go ahead (and you did,) it just doesn’t rank very high on my list, and, I think, detracts from real issues.
Yes, they could update their ticket technology, but (1) they won’t, and I need to deal with that, (2) I’d rather they spend their money doing other things, (3) there are some straightforward ways you can guard against this issue, and (4) they don’t have to chisel my tickets into granite as long as I’m not stupid with the tickets they give me.
in Colorado we take PHOTOS of entry and tickets using a PHONE – dont even need a smart phone!
Not only do I take a photo of the betting slip, I also e-mail it to my Gmail account. Even if I lose the ticket, my cell phone and the computer, I still have the e-mail.
Yes correct! One must presence of mind while taking and keeping the slip as they have many techniques to manipulate the slips.
This is all true, but the situation is not quite as dire as one might expect from this posting.
Hello Nolan, your article is very informative. As per my experience, just keep thermal receipts in a cool & dry place, the paper will not fade so quickly. (Actually I always put the receipt paper in my notebook).
I have found this article online about how to restore the faded receipt paper, http://www.pandapaperroll.com/thermal-paper-fades-restore/, maybe it will be useful.
A well-developed theme! Thanks for sharing this informative write-up.
Very late reply, but I have the same issue – and I am wondering if you can shed perhaps some more light on the situation. Maybe repost this with updated content? I say this because with the proliferation of sports books, if done online, the bet slip isn’t an issue…
But, here is my story – cousin makes a bet in Laughlin in Nov, 2025 for 2026 Stanley Cup Winner. I send him $40, he mails me the ticket (I live 1500 miles from Laughlin). I have gone the mailing route before and its not necessary to send tickets registered, but the ticket now has faded. I noticed the fading a couple of months ago.
My question is… Would the sportsbook reprint the ticket? I was considering sending the ticket back to cousin to ask to get a reprint but wasn’t sure if they would/could do that.
Also, assuming I had a cell phone pic – pretty sure I’d have to show up with the cell in my hand to get them to pay? Would they just accept that too? If my cousin showed up with cell pic it would be cool?
NOLAN REPLIES:
Of course, I cannot comment with any “official” authority.
However, so long as they can ID the transaction number (by any means possible) and there’s no reason for doubts, the ticket should be paid by mail. the key is the barcode or a transaction number which can easily be looked up. I presume this will get the ticket paid without any question. Note–it is critical to keep the original even if it’s hard to read.
— ND