BoDog Sportsbook & Casino is the latest victim of "insider trading" on wagers related to the outcome of reality TV shows.
The Costa Rica-based Internet sports book on Wednesday pulled the odds-to-win "Survivor 6: Amazon" bet from its site after learning multiple CBS Television employees wagered on the show's outcome. The show is aired and produced by CBS.
BoDog spokesman Lance Bradley said the biggest payoff, $8,000, came on a $1,000 bet placed on the fifth "Survivor" at 8-to-1 odds.
The show narrows the field to two finalists in filmed competitions. The winner is unknown until other contestants choose him or her in a vote during a live broadcast.
When BoDog was tipped off to the possibility of betting fraud, its security department attempted to contact each player to determine whether they were wagering in violation of the BoDog Player Agreement, which forbids groups of people to wager as a syndicate.
"Our rules are very clear on groups of people wagering on events with prior knowledge of the outcome," said Rob Gillespie, president of BoDog. "In this case our initial investigation determined that at least one of the clients worked for CBS in a production role and he may have provided information to the other players or they may have been wagering on his behalf."
To make matters worse, the increased action that was put on Jenna Morasca of Pittsburgh, Pa., and Matthew Von Ertfelda of Washington, D.C. to be the final pair skewed BoDog's odds so much that legitimate players were shying away from wagering.
Gillespie said he felt bad for the general betting public, but taking the Survivor bets off the site was the only real option he had.
"At the end of the day, we're in the entertainment business and a few people had to go and ruin it for the rest of our players," he said. "It's unfortunate, but we feel this course of action was appropriate."
The popularity of entertainment bets took off during the first season of Survivor. Since then, Internet sports books have been taking action on a number of reality TV shows--Joe Millionaire, The Bachelor, and American Idol just to name a few.
Offering such bets has always been a challenge for operators. Unlike sporting events, oftentimes TV shows are filmed with many insiders and crewmembers knowing the outcome. In the case of Survivor, almost the entire show was taped, with only the ultimate winner revealed on live television.
During the Bachelor, BetWWTS had to cease offering its bets on which single woman the eligible bachelor would pick after a host of new users from the bachelor's home town signed up for accounts and all were putting money on the same woman.
Gillespie noted that the Survivor bettors in question, all residing in California, opened their accounts prior to "Survivor 4: Marquesas" and never wagered on sporting events or any other BoDog betting options.
"It caught the attention of our security department after we noticed that these four individuals had all wagered the maximum amount on the same two contestants for the past three Survivor contests and were right on the final two contestants every time, assuring themselves a profit," he said.
It was a similar plan that foiled friends of the bachelor before they could cash in. With three or four episodes of the season left it was determined that long-time friends of the bachelor in Springfield, Mo., were all wagering the maximum amount on the same contestant to win. BetWWTS refunded all of their money and pulled the bachelor betting option off the site.
Despite the risk, Gillespie said BoDog would offer odds on Survivor 7, although the sports book will strictly monitor all wagers to ensure its regular clientele is not being negatively impacted.