PropSwap NCAA futures buyers will get money back

Buyers who purchased NCAA Tournament futures on the secondary betting market website PropSwap will be made whole, the company announced Monday.

The cancellation of the NCAA Tournament because of the coronavirus pandemic had left buyers with futures tickets that were virtually worthless.

PropSwap, which is based in Las Vegas, then appealed to sellers to welcome “good karma” by paying back buyers, though they were fully within their rights to keep the money.

PropSwap co-founder Luke Pergande said the vast majority of sellers decided to pay the buyers back, and the company stepped in to “bridge the small gap” for the ones who didn’t.

“We took a shot in the dark (asking sellers for refunds), and the amount of PayPals that we received over the weekend was incredible,” Pergande said.

Pergande said the company had facilitated about 1,000 transactions involving NCAA Tournament futures this season. He said about half of sellers returned all their profits and that most others returned a portion. PropSwap had also already agreed to pay its 10 percent fee on each transaction back to the buyers.

PropSwap allows bettors to sell futures tickets to lock in a profit. For example, one ticket posted on Twitter last week was a $300 bet on Butler to win the tournament at 500-1, paying $150,000. A buyer paid $1,775 for the ticket, but would have been able to recoup only the $300 original bet when it was cashed at a casino after the cancellation.

PropSwap suspended all transactions Thursday after nearly all major sporting events were canceled or postponed.

Pergande said PropSwap members were “a tight-knit community” and that they recognized the value of their relationship going forward.

“The sellers know they’ll get their money back in the long run,” he said. “They need people to buy their tickets. Uber needs riders and drivers. This keeps both sides happy.”

Contact Jim Barnes at jbarnes@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0277. Follow @JimBarnesLV on Twitter.