Wolverine fan …

November 20th, 2015 at 5:15 PM ^

This is one of the most crooked schemes I have seen. So, they told their employees exactly how to not get caught using insider information on other sites. Well played. Reminds me of some of the research I have done into PEPs (politically exposed persons) and how their close associates "invest". Good times.

Stu Daco

November 20th, 2015 at 5:21 PM ^

"There is an expectation that employees will only look up info such as user lineups or user win rates where needed to do job."

Sweet Jesus.

TruBluMich

November 20th, 2015 at 5:24 PM ^

I personally don't find that shady at all, it's a game of skill.  They had the ability to win at a game of skill and are not allowed to use that skill?  If it's not gambling there are no odds to change in their favor.  I personally have no issue with it either way but I'm not going to discuss the legality, because that's touching on a topic not allowed here.  Gambling has safe guards in place to prevent players who have inside knowledge from taking advantage of that. You wouldn't tell a professional athlete to not use his skills to make money.  If you are referring that it's shady, because they know it's not a game of skill, then I agree with you.

Stu Daco

November 20th, 2015 at 5:33 PM ^

 

Gambling has safe guards in place to prevent players who have inside knowledge from taking advantage of that.

No offense, but it doesn't seem like you've been following this issue very closely.  Employees taking advantage of inside information is exactly what happened.

cbuswolverine

November 21st, 2015 at 10:30 AM ^

Why?  I don't care what strategy they employ to remain legal at this point.  I played online poker for a living for several years.  Believe me, I would love for the floodgates to open in the US.  DFS is the last thing in the world that is keeping that from happening.

I assume that is what you are getting at, anyway.  Maybe not, though, considering the fact that you mentioned poker and blackjack in the same sentence for some reason.

 

If you are on the other side of the fence, I'll make it short:  math is a skill.

Doc Brown

November 21st, 2015 at 8:47 PM ^

No shit math is a skill, I have a advance degrees in physics. What I find laughable is the act Fan Duel and Draftkings is running that the everyday fan has a chance of winning. When we all know that like online poker, nerds like us with a training in advance analytics will rig the game in our favor. It is completely shady. I am actively rooting for them to get shut down but the gaming commissions.




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rs207200

November 21st, 2015 at 7:35 AM ^

I think you're missing the point. It's extremely shady because they had "insider" information that you and I did not have access too. Knowing which players the sharps are using along with usage rates is INCREDIBLY helpful. Essentially, with this info, there is absolutely no way you would beat me on a consistent basis.

wresler120

November 20th, 2015 at 5:29 PM ^

Hmmm .. You don't find this shady? Looking up other users lineup is not shady? How are you classifying looking up other users lineups as utilizing your skill? Okay then .. That makes a lot of sense




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wresler120

November 20th, 2015 at 5:41 PM ^

The most shady information isn't even out there yet. It's not long before someone comes forward to tell how the employees of each site were sharing lineup information with each other. There's no chance that these guys weren't sharing user lineups from site to site and player percentage owned with one another. And no chance these guys still aren't cheating one way or another .. You don't go from winning thousands and thousands a month back to a normal wage. It's already out there that many employees were winning more in a month than their annual salaries




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Inuyesta

November 20th, 2015 at 6:04 PM ^

Definitely shady and relevant to whether FD was engaged in fraudulent behavior.

Doesn't seem especially relevant to whether DFS games are a prohibited form of gambling though.

This issue is very annoying because it's hard for many people to disaggregate those two things.

Mr Miggle

November 20th, 2015 at 8:41 PM ^

There's no disputing that there is both an element of skill and of luck in DFS. That's true of many forms of gambling that are mostly prohibited. There's no mathematical formula to determine which is legal and which is not. Politics plays a big role. Online poker suffered from a scandal or two that made it vulnerable. This will hurt DFS. One could argue that they have gotten preferential treatment so far. Not only has the shadiness of at least one of the major players been exposed, but it's highlighted a major hurdle they have to overcome to safeguard the games. Simply banning play by employees with access to inside information isn't enough.

Even if you can make a good argument for making the games legal, a history of their being rigged and the potential for that happening again will weigh heavily against it.

LSAClassOf2000

November 20th, 2015 at 6:06 PM ^

You’ll notice that the goal of the policy isn’t to prevent or disallow employees from exploiting inside information, but simply to “limit” them.

You know, that was probably the most striking thing about it. We're not going to say that you can't do it, but try to use disrection of some kind when exploiting this information. It kind of sounds like the reason that they gave for not using all the information from Enigma during WWII - that would have given the game away. Be right strategically, and pretend you know nothing on other occasions. 

chomz14

November 20th, 2015 at 6:07 PM ^

I've done well. Not well enough to make a living but enough to have a decent Christmas. I think you have to be a little naive to think that's it's 100% legit. But even more naive to think that because you took runner up a couple times in your friends and family league that you can win every time. Just like anything else. There is a skill behind it and plenty of luck.