01-20-26 - Will Sites Like Fanduel Start Issuing Credits When Controversial Referee Calls Change The Outcome Of A Game

Summary

---

Podcast Summary: Holmberg's Morning Sickness – Arizona

Episode Overview

Episode Title:
01-20-26 – Will Sites Like Fanduel Start Issuing Credits When Controversial Referee Calls Change The Outcome Of A Game

Air Date:
January 20, 2026

Hosts:
John Holmberg, Brady Bogen, Bret Vesely, Dick Toledo

Main Theme:
The episode centers on whether official sports betting platforms like FanDuel should issue credits or refunds to bettors in cases where controversial referee calls significantly alter the outcome of a game—particularly when the NFL later admits officiating mistakes that impacted results.

---

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Controversial Officiating and Betting Outcomes

• The hosts discuss recent NFL games (notably, the Bills vs. Broncos and Bears vs. Rams), where fans and bettors felt referee mistakes directly influenced the game's outcome, leading to significant financial losses for many wagerers.
  • “So many of them sending over their ‘I win 350 bucks’ that, you know, you got beat on a lot of bets there.” (Host 1, 00:49)
  • The hosts note that NFL sometimes admits officiating errors after the fact by writing letters to teams, but these acknowledgments do not change the outcome—or compensate those financially affected.

2. The Potential for Sportsbook Credits

• The idea is floated that FanDuel, as the official sportsbook of the NFL, could lead the industry in addressing egregious calls by:
  • Refunding or crediting back wagers affected by game-changing mistakes, if and only if the NFL officially acknowledges a blown call.
  • “If the NFL ever writes that letter. They'll give the money back on the bad beats.” (Host 1, 01:59)
  • “…Because the game was tainted by a game changing mistake. And that, man, that was a game changing mistake.” (Host 1, 02:15)
• The practicality is discussed; with advanced computerized systems and betting records, issuing credits would not be technically complicated.
  • “It's all computerized.” (Host 1, 02:13)
  • “Just credit you... Because you can’t... It's not like you cash it out. It's a credit back.” (Host 3, 05:04)

3. The Incentives and Industry Impact

• Such a move could be beneficial for both FanDuel and the NFL, bolstering gambler trust and loyalty to the platform:

  • “FanDuel’s numbers would go through the moon. Well, at least when they screw up, you get your money back.” (Host 1, 02:46)

• But the hosts also recognize a likely problem: The NFL might simply stop publicly admitting mistakes to avoid triggering payouts, which could backfire in terms of transparency.

4. Replay, Human Error, and Ref Accountability

• Broader debate over the expanding use of replay and slow-motion analysis in officiating:
  • Some hosts lobby for removing replay and accepting human error as inherent to sports.
  • “Take away instant replay and let human error be part of it. Call in the field stands. That's it.” (Host 1, 07:12)
  • “If you're going to have replay, you can't have slow motion. The referees are asked to do too much in real time to go back in slow mo.” (Host 1, 07:26)
• The consequences for referees: NFL sometimes suspends or removes refs from playoff contention after major errors, as playoff assignments are lucrative for officials.
  • “They hammer them for not being able to be in the playoffs. Playoffs is money for the refs too.” (Host 4, 04:26)

5. Game-Specific Recap & Humor

• Emails from listeners, mainly Bills fans angry over the loss and officiating.
• The hosts inject humor and pop-culture references:
  • Jokes about the “curse” on Buffalo, referencing O.J. Simpson and blaming the city’s ongoing sports misfortune on him.
    • “I think maybe had I kept that white woman alive, the Bills would have had five or six championships. In fact, I blame Nicole… because we have nothing good in Buffalo.” (Host 2, 08:27)

---

Notable Quotes and Moments (with Timestamps)

• On FanDuel issuing credits:

  • “If the NFL ever writes that letter. They'll give the money back on the bad beats.”
    (Host 1, 01:59)

• On the logic and effect of credits:

  • “It's all computerized.”
    (Host 1, 02:13)
  • “FanDuel’s numbers would go through the moon. Well, at least when they screw up, you get your money back.”
    (Host 1, 02:46)

• On officiating consistency:

  • “Make both calls the same. Then either way they had replay assist and they didn't, it didn't happen.”
    (Host 1, 06:32)

• On human error in sports officiating:

  • “Take away instant replay and let human error be part of it. Call in the field stands. That's it.”
    (Host 1, 07:12)

• On the Buffalo sports curse (humorous):

  • “I think maybe had I kept that white woman alive, the Bills would have had five or six championships. In fact, I blame Nicole... because we have nothing good in Buffalo.”
    (Host 2, 08:27)

---

Important Segment Timestamps

• 00:49–01:54: Discussion kicks off around the Broncos-Bills game and the effect of bad calls.
• 01:54–03:28: Should FanDuel give credits for controversial calls? Examination of how it could work.
• 04:21–05:07: NFL accountability to teams and what would trigger credits; referee suspensions.
• 06:24–07:26: Broader effect of replay on officiating and fairness; proposal to remove slow-mo analysis.
• 08:27–09:02: Humorous O.J. Simpson segment blaming him for Buffalo’s lack of football success.

---

Tone and Style

The hosts blend sports commentary, sharp debate, and irreverent humor. They engage listeners directly (reading emails), use self-deprecating jokes, and riff on pop culture, all while analyzing the implications of sports betting and officiating errors. The conversation is energetic, colloquial, and at times intentionally provocative.

---

In Summary

This episode uses the Bills-Broncos game as a springboard for a spirited discussion about the intersection of modern sports betting, technology, and officiating accountability. The hosts propose a radical (albeit unlikely) solution—FanDuel refunding bets when NFL-admitted officiating errors substantially alter a game’s result. Although they acknowledge practical and ethical hurdles, the segment captures the evolving landscape of sports gambling and how technology may pressure leagues and sportsbooks to offer new types of consumer protections. The tone is lively, humorous, and always willing to poke fun—even at fans’ heartbreak.

Transcript

[Brett Vesely]

You're listening to the HMS Podcast, brought to you by MMP Guns.com, your most trusted online marketplace for firearms, ammunition, and accessories. Hey, it's Brett Vesely, and I'm here with Byron from MMP Guns. Look, Byron, I have a friend wanting to sell some guns he inherited. What's the best way for him to do that?

[Byron]

Brett, the last thing you want to do is sell the gun to someone who can't legally own one. Tell him not to put himself at risk and come into M and P Guns where he'll get a fair offer and he can rest easy knowing it's not getting into the wrong hands.

[Brett Vesely]

Okay, but what if he lives out of state?

[Byron]

Easy. Legalgunbuyer.com and he can do it. Really? That simple?

[Brett Vesely]

There you have it. MMP Guns or legal gunbuyer.com the safe and legal way to sell your firearms.

[Host 1]

You thought that was funny?

[Host 2]

Morning sickness.

[Host 1]

You were laughing like a hyena when he said it. What the hell is wrong with you?

[Host 2]

You pd.

[Host 1]

I'm getting emails from people and I'm with you guys about the Broncos and Bills game. So many of them sending over their I win 350 bucks that, you know, you got beat on a lot of bets there. You know what I think could happen? We talked to our friends over at FanDuel because they're the official sportsbook of the NFL, right?

[Host 3]

Right.

[Host 1]

So what's going to happen here? If the NFL has any scruples, and sometimes they do, is a few days after a call, like, if you missed it, the call was just the more you watch, the more you're like, oh, my God. And especially because in the very next day, another. Was it the next game?

[Host 4]

It was the next game, wasn't it?

[Host 1]

Well, no, it was the Bears and Rams.

[Host 4]

It was the next day.

[Host 1]

The next day they had the exact same thing go. And the opposite happened. And it was game. It's game. I mean, literally game changing in that horrible. And then you had the holding and the potential safety and the. Oh, so many things went against the Bills in ways that the refs blew it. So sometimes the NFL will write a letter and say, yes, we admit we missed that. They'll write a letter to the team and say we missed that and whatever. You know what?

[Brett Vesely]

They should now.

[Host 1]

Well.

[Host 2]

Right.

[Host 1]

It does the team no good. And there's really no fixing that.

[Brett Vesely]

Teams and the betters.

[Host 1]

You can make it good with betters with the official sports book of the NFL FanDuel. If the NFL ever writes that letter. They'll give the money back on the bad beats.

[Brett Vesely]

Oh, wow.

[Host 1]

It's all computerized.

[Brett Vesely]

Yeah.

[Host 1]

We all have action that says, had that changed because they can't predict the final score or another thing, but because you just get your money back. Yeah. Yep. Because the game was tainted by a game changing mistake. And that, man, that was a game changing mistake. I mean, possession changed hands, field goal range is over. It iced it. And they, you know, it was. That's a rough one. So I wonder if I don't.

[Host 3]

But that's always. Yeah, it is interesting because it's been part of the game.

[Host 1]

But it's been part of the game. But now with replay and all this other stuff and now that everybody's got a sports book in their hand and the NFL has. Trust me, FanDuel and the NFL have both benefited wildly from online sports gambling. I mean, this is a unexpected cash boon for them that you can't even imagine. If they were to finally say, sorry about that gang FanDuel, only because we're the FanDuel's numbers would go through the moon. Well, at least when they screw up, you get your money back. You know, if they say, we blew that call and it changed the game and. And there is an argument to say that altered the final score or something like that. Oh, for sure.

[Host 4]

In that game. Yeah, the Bills game, for sure.

[Host 1]

Yeah, that one. Games like that. We think the Bears game, too. Yeah.

[Brett Vesely]

Oh, yeah.

[Host 4]

Because it was a late.

[Brett Vesely]

Yeah, it was late.

[Host 1]

But wasn't it the right call?

[Brett Vesely]

No. Well, depends on which way you go. You know, like.

[Host 1]

That's true.

[Brett Vesely]

Depends on what they're calling.

[Host 1]

Yeah. What is the call?

[Brett Vesely]

I'm not blaming it on that, but it was game changing.

[Host 1]

Now, Craig, Craig House emails over and says, I know Bill's fans are mad, but what's the excuse for the other four turnovers? You make a strong point that they were blowing it. But at that moment, even with four.

[Brett Vesely]

Turnovers, the momentum changes.

[Host 1]

The game was over. I'm saying if the NFL writes a yes, we made a terrible error. Now, you don't write a letter to the team if you miss a hold in the first quarter. But countless amounts of. And this has happened a lot. This isn't me. This is like real. The NFL writes letters. They write letters to say, we're sorry we blew it. And that would. Obviously that called different changes.

[Host 4]

They suspend refs.

[Host 1]

Oh, yeah, they'll fire guys.

[Host 4]

They fire them from the playoff.

[Host 1]

They.

[Host 4]

They hammer them for not being able to be in the playoffs. Playoffs is Money for the refs too.

[Host 3]

Yeah, they have to have a grade in order to come back.

[Host 1]

This guy's email actually is something something dub bills. So I know where he's coming from. And he says, john, you got a better ch. Your blacks and Greenland plan than sportsbook giving money back. I know it's a far fetched idea. And the black for Greenland thing is not again. We did it to Hawaii. We just showed up and went, hey guys, this is ours now. But we had to look different. Can't just show up and be sort of like them. You got to be totally different. So that's a different argument. Yeah, get me off.

[Host 3]

It would be. Well, it would be easier for them to credit it back.

[Host 1]

Just credit you the.

[Host 3]

Because you can't. It's not like you cash it out. It's a credit back.

[Host 1]

And that it would make you say, I'm going to stick around this betting thing like, okay. And it wouldn't happen that often. But what would happen is the NFL would stop writing letters. They'd stop admitting they did wrong. They already have a hard enough time with that anyway. But I mean, there's some that there that game itself and Broncos fans, I get it. Four turnovers at the time, you should have been trouncing them. You're at home and they're in your plus three in the turnover department. You should have been killing them. Fact is, they had the lead and just about bounced you without that play. And you would have been better off getting bounced because I'd rather see the Bills and Patriots than I would Jared Stidham in the Broncos. Sorry, I'm off on a tangent. I'm off. I'm on one. It's a good idea, though. Posit FanDuel, I think, you know, we can make our. And FanDuel as a business, you can make our betters really happy. If we made a deal with the NFL that any time then it would. It would be. If the NFL writes the letter, that would be the problem. Because the NFL would just stop doing that. Stop publicizing their mistakes out loud. But that was brutal. And when I first saw it naked eye, you're like, all right, could go either way. Either calls, right? And then the more you watch it, the more you're like, no, this is bad. This is really bad. Really bad.

[Brett Vesely]

I mean, they have replay. I mean it's.

[Host 1]

They didn't use it at least, you know, don't get it.

[Brett Vesely]

They have that exact same play, make both calls the same.

[Host 1]

Then either way they had replay assist and they didn't it didn't happen. Like, I still don't like when they.

[Host 3]

Go to, you know, whoever the official, like Pereira. Yeah, Pereira. It was someone different.

[Host 1]

It was the CBS game. So what's the other guy for cbs?

[Host 3]

Blandino is going to agree with the. The call there that they're not even, you know, it's like, I, I would agree with that. That was like. Well, because there's no.

[Brett Vesely]

It should have went to Vince McMahon.

[Host 1]

Vince McMahon, because it's WWE. It's all fixed. He's a Bears fan. He's having a rough week. He'll be out. But yeah, that's like I said.

[Brett Vesely]

Either way, though, like, make the calls the same again. Right.

[Host 1]

Wrong or otherwise, I say and have for years take away instant replay and let human error be part of it. Call in the field stands. That's it. Like, if we're going to a lot more catches. Well, because slow mo ruined everything, right? Exactly. And you just have to deal with the fact. Yeah. You're asking these dudes to do this in regular time. I've always said if you're going to have replay, you can't have slow motion. The referees are asked to do too much in real time to go back in slow mo. You know, you can't go back and do that. You cannot go back and say, all right, let's pinpoint analyze this and scrutinize it down to its tenths of seconds and then say, these refs suck. I mean, it's not fair. If you got to watch the replay, you get three looks at it from three angles, you pick them in regular speed and make the call. And that way us at home, we can yell and scream and whatever. It's like they don't have the benefit. And we would just know it. They don't have the benefit of slow mo. So that's. But that. That was brutal. Sorry about that, Bills fans. You guys are cursed. Huge curse. And because I don't like any teams, it doesn't matter. But that was a rough one. And this is. We still think it might be because of OJ he still might have a vendetta against OJ And Buffalo ever having happiness again.

[Host 2]

I'll tell you what. I think maybe had I kept that white woman alive, the Bills would have had five or six championships. In fact, I blame Nicole. You know, I killed her in 1994. That was after the fourth one they lost. I mean, I was mad.

[Brett Vesely]

So it's like the curse of the Bambino for Boston.

[Host 2]

It's the curse of the O.J. simpsono. That's right. I'm just saying, why chop that head off? Because we have nothing good in Buffalo.

[Host 1]

I'm not that I ever lived there.

[Host 2]

That place was horrible.

[Host 1]

But.

[Host 2]

I'm surprised I didn't kill anybody there. Walk the streets of Buffalo, you want to chop off some white people's heads.

[Host 1]

That's for sure.

[Host 2]

I'm just saying.

[Host 1]

Get out of here. How do you just show up? I didn't hear his portal open. Anyway, since it's Tuesday, but we missed yesterday. We do the two in one, so we're gonna do a one. What would Brady do then? The Hot releases. A twofer. How about them apples? We'll get that done. Sorry about all those Bills fans that are wallowing around, but you guys are used to disappointment. You know, you're like people with lazy eyes. You're just used to people looking at them going, what happened? You're Bills fans. It's a thing we'll get to. What would Brady do next?

[Host 2]

Arizona's most powerful, powerful rock radio station.