We typically refund such bets unless they are a blatant attempt at taking advantage of the other
bettors
[...]
we did refund a very late bet even though it could in fact have been construed as a skimming attempt.
By changing this rule you are effectively telling the cheats that they will now be allowed to cheat again as long as they don't make it too obvious. You are also opening yourself up to accusations of favouritism yourself - maybe you refund some bets and not others because of who made them. We can't tell.
Using the old rule is much clearer and fairer for everyone in my opinion.
Well, the problem these days is that blocks are full, and knowing when your TX will actually confirm
has become an absolute crapshoot unless you add very large fees (which does not work for small bets).
Also, although made very explicit when you place a bet on the site, the rule has created a lot
of controversy and hurt feelings (real or simulated) in the past. We're trying to design the best
possible experience for our users:
- on the one hand we want to protect legitimate bettors from skimmers
- on the other hand, we do not want legitimate bettors who just bet late
to be unjustly penalized by the rule