Fantasy Sports Employees Bet at Rival Sites Using Inside Information

Post by pboutros » Tue, Oct 06, 2015, 12:06 AM UTC

zem wrote: post #15

pboutros wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"The data that DraftKings acknowledged was released by its employee, Ethan Haskell, showed what particular players were most used in all lineups submitted to the site’s Millionaire Maker contests. Usually, that data is not released until the lineups for all games are finalized. Getting it early, however, is of great advantage to make tactical decisions, especially when your opponents do not have the information at al…

so he was trying to bet on which way the odds would be placed and get in ahead of that, with some sort of hedging that would work regardless of how the games turned out? i have a feeling there's some key insight i'm missing here - is this like placing a bet on a dark horse before the public catches on and the odds swing closer to even?

Post by iopq » Tue, Oct 06, 2015, 12:09 AM UTC

icelancer wrote: post #11

FanaHOVA wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even with that, you'd still have to be good enough to pick the best roster. I don't think it's as useful as the article makes it sound.

Huh? You just use the company's internal pricing model and use it on other sites once you know discrepancies. It's not "simple" but it's not genius level derivatives trading, either.

Post by npkarnik » Tue, Oct 06, 2015, 12:21 AM UTC

icelancer wrote: post #3

As someone who worked in the Internet gambling industry and has to sit and see these Daily Fantasy Sports idiots run their loophole into the ground, I can only laugh. You can't flout your "legality" in front of a bunch of US Senators, advertise fraudulent returns, and have zero regulations and expect to get away with it.

Post by npkarnik » Tue, Oct 06, 2015, 12:30 AM UTC

iopq wrote: post #23

icelancer wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Huh? You just use the company's internal pricing model and use it on other sites once you know discrepancies. It's not "simple" but it's not genius level derivatives trading, either.

What? I can see the prices of players on DraftKings and other sites as a player. That "internal pricing model" is public knowledge.

Post by jessaustin » Tue, Oct 06, 2015, 12:41 AM UTC

icelancer wrote: post #12

zem wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

so it's basically using the "wisdom of the crowds" that play on the DraftKings site to put together a really good pick? that still seems like it shouldn't count as equivalent to insider information, because it's aggregating a bunch of guesses that have no information either.

No. If 60% of people pick Player X, his value goes down. This is parimutuel betting. You don't want significant overlap if you can help it; how would you beat the crowd otherwise? You find outliers and apply a pricing model that finds the best gaps. The information is incredibly valuable. Take it from someone who did this for a living at one point.