Sodium-
Sure you said they should pay him, but then screw him in the market.
What you are forgetting (or maybe you didn't read all the posts) is that word is more than just Areef bet on this game. Do you think any book would take this kind of heat over a single bet?
Areef is doing the Norma Rae thing and standing up. Maybe some of the other players are credit players and their Agents chose to honor the bets. Maybe some players are afraid Casablanca will blackball them, as you are advocating for Areef. Maybe some are afraid Casa will pay them nothing and are willing to take half-a-loaf, rather than take a chance fighting them.
If Casablanca choses to pay Areef and not to take more of his action in the future, that is their perogative, but they shouldn't send his info to other books.
One of the other posters said that Casablanca sent out a mass email recently, and forgot to hide the email addresses of their customer list.
If Casablanca tried to blackball this player to the other sportsbooks and share his info, the player would be justified in publishing the list of Casablanca emails and to contact those players telling them his story.
If the player should be paid, it should be for ONE REASON: the bet was legitimate enough to be honored. (So far, Casablanca hasn't offered enough of reason to avoid honoring the bet.)
If it is paid, there should be no penalty (beyond Casablanca's right to refuse further action with this player).
However, if Casablanca does pay, then it is in their interest to keep Areef (and the other winners) and hope to win it back during football. They can't win it back if they kick the winners out.
Sodium- one last question for you: If Areef had lost the underdog bet, would Casablanca have refunded his money? If your answer is NO, then they must honor the bet, since they can't honor only the best that go their way.