Mainstream media has begun to pick up on a scandal involving the Daily Fantasy Sports site DraftKings in which an employee of that company managed to win big playing at a competing site, FanDuel.
He won to the tune of $350,000, prompting concerns over potential insiders information being misused.
The New York Times was among the first media outlets to report on the story following reports that were published here at DFS911.com and Gambling911.com the day prior. The Associated Press and New York Daily News have since followed suit.
Ethan Haskell of DraftKings leaked the data prior to the beginning of the Week 3 NFL game slate. That information displaeyd which players were most used by participants in the site’s Millionaire Makers contest.
Such data is typically released after lineups are locked and once games have begun. Access to such data offers a tremendous edge to an individual who can then select players who are not as widely used.
The Times reported that a DraftKings spokesman said Haskell made a mistake and that he did not use the information to his advantage. Both sites had prohibited employees from playing on their own sites, but not others, the report said, but they have temporarily banned employees from doing so.
Both DraftKings and FanDuel issued similar statements: “We continue to review our internal controls to ensure they are as strong as they can be. We also plan to work with the entire fantasy sports industry on this specific issue so that fans everywhere can continue to enjoy and trust the games they love.”
– Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com