OT ......these Fantasy sites are rigged

addicted2ebay

It's probably Obvious to any outsider but the sites are rigged. It's a money grab with lots of shady play going on.

play

mtcards

I dont think having information makes them rigged. You are playing against people who do this for a living and spend hours and hours researching statistical data...those players may include people that work at those sites. As long as they arent picking teams after the fact, i dont see anything wrong with it.

addicted2ebay

A spokesman for DraftKings acknowledged that employees of both companies had won big jackpots playing at other daily fantasy sites. Late Monday, the two companies temporarily barred their employees from playing games or taking part in tournaments at any other site; they already had prohibited their employees from playing on their own company sites.

It's rigged

Sdub

<< <i>A spokesman for DraftKings acknowledged that employees of both companies had won big jackpots playing at other daily fantasy sites. Late Monday, the two companies temporarily barred their employees from playing games or taking part in tournaments at any other site; they already had prohibited their employees from playing on their own company sites.

It's rigged >>



Ashley Madison, Draft Kings, Fan duel; all looking for the same dumb 25 million males thinking they will get laid or win $100K. neither happens.

addicted2ebay

<< <i>

<< <i>A spokesman for DraftKings acknowledged that employees of both companies had won big jackpots playing at other daily fantasy sites. Late Monday, the two companies temporarily barred their employees from playing games or taking part in tournaments at any other site; they already had prohibited their employees from playing on their own company sites.

It's rigged >>



Ashley Madison, Draft Kings, Fan duel; all looking for the same dumb 25 million males thinking they will get laid or win $100K. neither happens. >>



Amen...... It's fools gold.

bounce

if anyone could see the actual stats on players selected PRIOR to the lineups being locked, then it's definitely "insider trading"

supposedly that wasn't the case, but i'm not buying it

no reason to believe that those stats would be any different on the other site, so if you had them and could use them to "adjust" your lineup for the potential outlier, you definitely have an advantage

i think it's a big deal for these guys in terms of regulation, though - they're about to feel that hammer come down

KendallCat

ESPN/Disney sold out to them hence the ridiculous number of ads the last month. Heard somewhere in the $500 million neighborhood for 2 years of ads and promotions. This one might not end well for shareholders of Mickey Mouse!

cardsfan73

I wonder how MLB feels about this scandal being they have held equity in Draft Kings since 2013.

addicted2ebay

<< <i>I wonder how MLB feels about this scandal being they have held equity in Draft Kings since 2013. >>



You would think MLB would be the league not to mess with shady people.

thebaseballcardkid

With the popularity of fantasy football, I "bet" this is just a blip. I could see just two companies raking in nine figures a year. The now have the government legislation and the major sport leagues backing them up its almost no fail. They can't let a few ruin their image. Its always greed that results in such a downfall. Why risk it? People continue to kill the goose and never happy with and almost limitless production of golden eggs.

Its similar to when online poker started. Its definitely beatable. For now. But the sharks are coming with algorithms and devotion as a full time job. Making it unbeatable in the near future. They'll continue to pick off the newbies. I absolutely think its beatable. The kicker is not only the sharks but anything over $600 has to be declared. Thats the "vig" where I wouldn't quit my day job.

There's a discussion about this on the "sports talk" forum here.

Stingray

Do you ever see the fine print on the commercials?? Average bet is like $3.60 and average win is like $20.

72skywalker

We live 5 miles from ESPN and my neighbor works there. He plays in a friendly fantasy football league there with the people who write the articles who tell you to start or sit each week. He tells me that they are usually in the middle of the pack or towards the bottom of the league standings.

PSASAP

I don't believe the employees were picking teams after the results were known. But they were using knowledge gleaned from the millions of members, a database that only the company has access to, to help them select the optimal team. It's the stock equivalent of insider trading.

kerryville

<< <i>I don't believe the employees were picking teams after the results were known. But they were using knowledge gleaned from the millions of members, a database that only the company has access to, to help them select the optimal team. It's the stock equivalent of insider trading. >>



Good bye no regulation Daily Fantasy Football. This will snow ball into a new government office. Oh please could are President care about this and not Syria. Most likely because he's all about the people.

LarkinCollector

<< <i>Do you ever see the fine print on the commercials?? Average bet is like $3.60 and average win is like $20. >>


Most people are playing $2 H2H or 50/50 tournaments. It's easy to make a few bucks that way and it's still a game of skill, the million dollar prizes are more like the lottery.

Dpeck100

I am seeing this morning on the CNBC ticker that ESPN has pulled DraftKings.com adds.

They are the primary sponsor for Ric Flair's podcast Woonation.

sbfinley

<< <i>
Most people are playing $2 H2H or 50/50 tournaments. It's easy to make a few bucks that way and it's still a game of skill, the million dollar prizes are more like the lottery. >>



This. I played usually 2-3 $10 50/50's all baseball season and did quite well. My win percentage was probably probably between 65% and 70%. Not that difficult to money if you follow the game closely. The massive games are mostly luck, which is why this story doesn't bother me at all. You won't win major money unless you pick 2-3 nobodies that hardly one selected who just happened to go off for big points as well. If you pick say Jamal Charles and his scores 30 points, congrats 100,000 other people also picked him, but if you picked Shane Vareen and he happens to put up 33 you're ahead of the field - granted the rest of the team you selected also performs. There is nothing like having a Monday night player while the field in front of you is tapped out and jumping 500 spots with every reception or rush.


Edited addition now that I'm in front of my computer: The title of this thread is completely wrong. The news cycle has spun this as "insider trading" which is... well...dumb. The claim is that employees from these companies play on rival sites and have a competitive advantage because they have knowledge most players don't have about that day's proceedings. Is this statement true? Yes. However, they have an advantage because they have knowledge most players "don't" have not most players "can't" have. There is a big difference. These guys get paid to have an intense knowledge of all major sports. With all the talk of the "algorithms" these guys have access to you also have to realize that all players see the outcome of these algorithms in the daily values of the player. After that it's all about knowing the game very well, being smart, and using common sense. I know many sports fans. A surprising number of them don't really know the game as well as they think they do. If your intricate knowledge of the game comes from the half hour of PTI you watch and listening to Dan Patrick in the morning, then yeah... you're probably going to struggle.

PM770

<< <i>We live 5 miles from ESPN and my neighbor works there. He plays in a friendly fantasy football league there with the people who write the articles who tell you to start or sit each week. He tells me that they are usually in the middle of the pack or towards the bottom of the league standings. >>



This made me laugh. I scratch my head every season that Matthew Berry is employed. If you ever have a decision to make on who to start, find out what Matthew Berry says and then do the opposite. I have used this strategy to fantastic results.

LarkinCollector

<< <i>

<< <i>We live 5 miles from ESPN and my neighbor works there. He plays in a friendly fantasy football league there with the people who write the articles who tell you to start or sit each week. He tells me that they are usually in the middle of the pack or towards the bottom of the league standings. >>



This made me laugh. I scratch my head every season that Matthew Berry is employed. If you ever have a decision to make on who to start, find out what Matthew Berry says and then do the opposite. I have used this strategy to fantastic results. >>


Fading Yahoo's Brad Evans Flames and Lames is an even better strategy

PMKAY

Interesting read

mtcards

The article did not say what information the players had (Having knowledge of what other people picked is not an advantage). I mean honestly, how the heck does anyone know which batter will get 3 hits and HR on any given night in advance? There are many people that make money simply by analyzing statistics and player trends in all sports. Having information is not rigging unless it shows the stats of every player BEFORE the game starts (which is impossible unless all sports are rigged) OR it allows them to enter players AFTER the game has started, which is not what the article is saying.

Still have yet to see how the site is "rigged"

mlbfan2

<< <i>The article did not say what information the players had (Having knowledge of what other people picked is not an advantage). >>



It certainly can be an advantage. For example, picking a team of players that no one else picked is an advantage, just like picking a set of 6 lottery numbers that no one else picked is an advantage. It doesn't make you more likely to win, but it means you'll win more money when you do win. That's why you shouldn't play 5-10-15-20-25-30 in the lottery. If those numbers all come in, you likely have to split 1st prize with a bunch of people.

Mefer

Having that data is a huge advantage. You can in turn play multiple teams that make use of various multiples of under utilized players. The fact that others do not have those players could work to your advantage assuming they sufficiently score. Of course, I do believe some skill is still involved (you are obviously not going to start a third string quarterback) but having data others does not gives you information that can be used to your advantage.

thebaseballcardkid

I'd bet this has been going on since almost the beginning. I'm sure that they have been winning hundreds and thousands of dollars per game. Unfortunately for them they got too good and unlucky and won $350,000 or whatever.
Even if they parade out the scapegoat and fire him that it will def continue.

Theres is no doubt in my mind that they exploit their access and will continue. Just like they did win online poker was huge. Greed killed the goose. Its rigged because they have open access and know what everyone else is "betting" on and where they are placing their bets. Knowledge is king. And who is monitoring them? Its a rigged game just like the market.

Raulsmaster

I think it simply opens the door to full on regulated gambling. It's already been blown wide open and the government can regulate it, not to mention rake in huge sums of money from it. It's happening anyway, it's only a matter of time anyway...this would be the time