Suspicious Betting Activity Forces Books to Halt Bets on Jeopardy! GOAT

In what is fast becoming one of the most read articles on the Gambling911 website in over a year, it was revealed on Monday that SportsBetting.ag and BetOnline.ag both had halted betting on Jeopardy! Greatest of All Time.  This tournament kicks off today (Tuesday January 7, 2020). 

Based on what it deemed to be "suspicious betting activity", BetOnline would no longer accept bets on GOAT.

"Some irregular betting patterns coming in.  Stay tuned," BetOnline chief Dave Mason posted on Twitter.

He later revealed to ESPN that a sudden surge of bets came in on Contestant X, "one after another".

"Granted, the limits were $100," Mason said, "[but] it raised concern and seemed strange, as previously most money was on [Contestant Y].

It should also be noted that one of the contestants, James Hozhauer, is a professional gambler.

SportsBetting.ag representative Scott Cooley advised Gambling911 that his book immediately set odds for who would emerge as the greatest between Ken Jennings, Holzhauer and Brad Rutter. Holzhauer was initially installed as the favorite, followed by Jennings and Rutter.

Taping for the show began in December and that is right around the time SportsBetting.ag began to spot the irregularities.

Marco Blume, trading director for Pinnacle, also advised ESPN of some unusual occurrences.

On Dec. 19, prominent offshore sportsbook Pinnacle took two $500-limit bets on Contestant X from the same account. The next day, three more max bets on Contestant X were placed from the same account, and Pinnacle took the odds off the board.

"I'm pretty sure at this stage that [the bettor] knew what was happening," Marco Blume, trading director for Pinnacle, told ESPN.

Jeopardy! is known for keeping a tight lid on the pre-taped results, but something similar occurred last year when the day before Holzhauer's 32-game winning streak came to an end a video clip of him losing was posted on the Internet.

- Chris Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher