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The New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) is reportedly conducting an investigation into Scientific Games Corporation owned Don Best Sports after apparently dropping the ball and permitting wagers to take place on Syracuse and Army games in New York. The state strictly forbids betting on either team or the games that feature them through its regulated sportsbooks.
What the Hell Happened?
The bets were placed via PointsBet, which is now owned by the clothing apparel company Fanatics. Don Best acts as a third party platform provider for PointsBet.
Fanatics spokesperson confirmed that a “small group of customers placed bets” during the Oct. 23 through Oct. 26 time frame on these games. Once PointsBet realized the mistake at the conclusion of the Syracuse vs. Virginia Tech game, the site immediately reported to the NYSGC and voided all bets. Some parlay bets were adjusted to exclude the winners of the games featuring the two New York schools. Syracuse and Army lost their respective games.
It's not immediately clear what caused the software glitch.
The Aftermath?
A source close to Gambling911.com tells us that Don Best removed all their sports handicappers recently.
"I have NOT seen any picks on there site for a week or more now," the source tells us.
It is not known what actions, if any, will be taken by the Gaming Commission.
An Intriguing History
Don Best has a long rich history as a global supplier of real-time betting data relevant to North American sporting events. The company was founded by Al Corbo, who was listed in Nevada's "Black Book" of people banned from all Nevada casinos for life. Son Dana, an attorney, ran the company through much of the boom years of online sportsbook betting in the North American market after the untimely passing of his dad from cancer. The company was named after its creator Don Bessett, who also died of cancer before selling his product to the elder Corbo. Neither Bessett or Al would live to see how influential the lines feed would ultimately become.
Scientific Gaming, now called Light & Wonder, traces its history back to Autotote, a manufacturer of totalizator systems for parimutuel wagering at racetracks. Scientific Gaming, which developed the first secure instant lottery ticket in 1974, would go on to purchase Autotote in 2001. By 2002, two-thirds of the $20 billion wagered annually on racing in North America was tracked by Autotote computers. Autotote's software would go on to play a role in the 2002 Breeders' Cup betting scandal. That scheme involved computer programmer Chris Harn conspiring with two friends, Derrick Davis and Glen DaSilva, to manipulate bets via Autotote's software.
- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com
