The World Sports Betting recently announced they are paying out to bettors who backed Morocco in the Africa Cup of Nations, following the official declaration of Morocco as champions.

This massive payout is the direct result of a decision by the CAF Appeal Board, published on 17 March 2026. The board officially ruled that the Senegal National Team forfeited the Final Match of the Total Energies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Morocco 2025. As a consequence of this forfeiture, the match result was recorded as a 3–0 victory in favor of the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football (FRMF), effectively crowning Morocco the tournament winners after the fact. 

The CAF Appeal Board’s decision followed an appeal by the FRMF regarding the application of the competition’s regulations. The board found that the conduct of the Senegal team violated Articles 82 and 84 of the Africa Cup of Nations Regulations. Additionally, it was determined that the Fédération Sénégalaise de Football (FSF) infringed Article 82 through its team’s conduct. As a result, under Article 84, the match was mandated to be forfeited.

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This ruling effectively set aside a previous decision by the CAF Disciplinary Board and dismissed all other motions related to the match outcome. The Appeal Board also finalized several other sanctions concerning the Moroccan team and its federation, Ismaël Saibari, the Moroccan player (No. 11), had his USD 100,000 fine set aside, though he remains subject to a two-match suspension (with one match suspended) for misconduct. Additionally, the federation’s fines were reduced, the fine for a ball boy incident was lowered to USD 50,000, and the fine for a laser incident was reduced to USD 10,000. The board also confirmed a USD 100,000 fine against the FRMF for interference around the OFR/VAR review area. 

With the legal proceedings concluded and the 3–0 result officially confirmed, the standings were finalized, allowing the South African bookmaker, World Sports Betting, to proceed with paying out to successful Morocco bettors. World Sports Betting confirmed, “Morocco bettors, you’re getting PAID! Morocco crowned champions. And World Sports Betting is paying out!” 

This is not an isolated case, as several betting operators across the industry including Paddy Power, Betclic, BoyleSports, Betfair, Gal Sport Betting and Sky Bet have adopted a similar approach, choosing to honour wagers based on the revised official outcome while allowing previously settled bets on Senegal to stand. This creates a rare dual-settlement scenario, where bookmakers absorb the cost of paying out on both sides in response to an unprecedented post-match ruling, reflecting a broader effort to maintain the customer’s trust.