DFS scandal of the day

[Trautdiggity]

I think you missed my point. I don't believe there was just one employee who played, lol. But this one, Ethan Haskell, was the one who got caught by the public with his hand in the cookie jar and caused the whole outrage. If he hadn't published the lineup info 90 minutes too early, there would have been no one aware that this info wasn't sealed until after the games locked. And compounding it was the fact he won $350K just the week before, suddenly linking access to info with major scores. Haskell and the sites can claim all they want that he didn't use the info to craft his lineups, but it really doesn't matter -- public perception thinks he did. And his trail of successful major scores, one after the next, makes it kind of hard to deny.

If this guy doesn't drop the info too soon, DFS would continue as normal, with some legal hounds sniffing about as they always have. But suddenly the Haskell scandal made it not just "legal gambling" but fraud, and now states are lining up to ban it.

Gotcha and I had misunderstood. Haskell is the visible symptom of the underlying disease

[heyelander]

I've always wondered if those "winnings" were gross and not net. If you've played enough to win 1 million, but lost 999,900 over the same time period... not so surprising.

[revo]

I've always wondered if those "winnings" were gross and not net. If you've played enough to win 1 million, but lost 999,900 over the same time period... not so surprising.

They're definitely gross numbers.


The news/lawsuits/regulations are coming fast & furious today. PA, IL, & FL have DFS on the agenda early next week to discuss/ban in their states. Since the NV ban earlier today, states with casinos are using this precedent to protect their interests, and maybe steer these new-found gamblers to their casinos instead.


Fantasy Aces apparently will seek a gambling license in NV, which could pretty much topple the apple cart, since admitting it's gambling would go against what every other DFS site says.

[nullnor]

How much of a road game is it really when the flight is less than an hour to get there (ie ATL at JAX)?

does it cause them to miss a day of practice?

[nullnor]

don't let DFS confuse the question about where to bet with how to bet.

notice my method is yearly, theirs is daily. that's a big difference.

so.. I found three teams with three consecutive roads games. im not gonna look for them. there might be one or two more tho. anyone want to look and see if there are more?

[nullnor]

trivia, the DraftKings flak Sacco is the one who lost her PR job last year tweeting about "will I get AIDS from this trip to Africa, no because I'm white!" and smelly Germans on planes. tried too hard to be edgy, to say the least....

that would be yes. it doesn't mean anything here, but you've got a good eye. I suppose flying is like being on twitter, you have a few drinks then wham, who knows what ppl say?

[SeaDogStat]

I'll miss the Fan Duel, Draft Kings commercials...

[revo]

A question for those still playing football DFS:

I was listening yesterday to XM Fantasy and the Rotogrinder's show discussed the player ownership percentages, taken from the Thursday night games. They had the ownership percentages of EVERY player, not just the players in the Thursday game. When I am in a GPP on Fanduel and peruse other rosters, for players who are in the Monday night game, it says "Player Revealed on Game Day." So how is it that they have the player ownership numbers for Sunday & Monday games? Isn't this what the whole big hubbub was about, that insiders had ownership stats? So if this was available before to everyone, what then was the big deal? Or is this a new thing that FD has done? Anyone have any idea?

[Todd Zola]

These are percent ownerships for the full slate games that close on Thursday. Historically they've been pretty close to the numbers from the Sunday contest - at least close enough to see who's getting a ton of exposure and who'd being faded. Of course there are changes - so call it ballpark.

[revo]

These are percent ownerships for the full slate games that close on Thursday. Historically they've been pretty close to the numbers from the Sunday contest - at least close enough to see who's getting a ton of exposure and who'd being faded. Of course there are changes - so call it ballpark.

Right. But when I enter Sunday GPPs and look at other rosters after the lock, Fanduel puts a "Revealed on Game Day" space for players who are going on Monday -- they don't tell you the player. So in GPPs that start Thursday, why don't they put the same "Revealed on Game Day" for those players going on Sunday/Monday?

[Todd Zola]

Might be because other sites -- notably Draft Kings -- have a late switch option and they may not want to have that info out there. Not sure why. If FD has a Mon and Thurs contest, it may be b/c of that as well.

I'll search the Rotogrinders forum - maybe its there.

[Todd Zola]

So apparently others are confused by it as well -- supposed to prevent lineups copied from the Thurs lock to Sunday lock. Some of the posts on the RG forum say they understand why, others don't.

What does it say on Thursday after kickoff? That's the part I don't get. If they don't reveal Monday's players until KO, then they shouldn't reveal Sunday's until after KO either.

Sounds to me like it was a compromise to some users bitching about copied lineups that somehow appeased their concerns.

[revo]

So apparently others are confused by it as well -- supposed to prevent lineups copied from the Thurs lock to Sunday lock. Some of the posts on the RG forum say they understand why, others don't.

What does it say on Thursday after kickoff? That's the part I don't get. If they don't reveal Monday's players until KO, then they shouldn't reveal Sunday's until after KO either.

Sounds to me like it was a compromise to some users bitching about copied lineups that somehow appeased their concerns.

Thanks Todd. I'm not sure what it says on Thursday GPPs after kickoff because I usually don't play those, but I was caught off-guard when the RG show was discussing actual ownership percentages as taken from a Thursday GPP -- because I didn't think that info was available. So I have to assume it doesn't say anything, because all players in everyone's lineup are revealed.

I get that ownership percentages may change from Thursday to Sunday, but in some weeks (like this one, with juicy matchups at every position), it may not change much. You're an avid DFS player and analyst -- don't you think it's weird that full lineups are revealed for Thursday games even though the players aren't playing, or is it just me? This basically gives you the chalk plays to craft a great lineup for cash games, and the info you need to make an underutilized GPP lineup.

Also, I had perused the RG forum for a thread on this, but couldn't find one. Can you post a link?

[Todd Zola]

To me, the ownership numbers are far more pertinent to GPP -- cash I care about what I think, GPP I care more about what others think (that said, I'm mostly a cash player).

Also, keep in mind this shit mushroomed so fast that the repercussions of doing something seemingly innocuous has taken on a whole new light. Last season, Rotowire would post a piece on Friday with the percent ownerships from contests that lock on Thursday. In just the last year, what can be done with that info has exploded.

Anyway....

search "Revealed on Game Day" (with the quotes)

https://rotogrinders.com/threads/is-this-legit-fd-452003

[revo]

Last season, Rotowire would post a piece on Friday with the percent ownerships from contests that lock on Thursday. In just the last year, what can be done with that info has exploded.

Rotogrinders is posting this same article on Fridays now!