Did you place wagers into horserace betting pools affected by computer-assisted wagering (CAW)? If you bet on thoroughbred horseraces while not using a CAW account, you may be affected by a scheme to rig outcomes. Fill out the form to find out your rights »
WHAT’S THE ISSUE?
Hagens Berman has filed a nationwide class-action lawsuit against racetrack owners who also own or co-own computer-assisted wagering (CAW) horse betting and wagering platforms. The firm’s legal team, which includes forensic accountants skilled in unearthing financially based wrongdoing, accuses these entities of colluding via computer-assisted, algorithmic betting that has disadvantaged everyday bettors in a rigged system that favors the wealthy. AI and other advances in technology have relegated betting and wagering in horseracing to online-based accounts, systematically leading to the unfair transfer of billions to a small group of inside bettors and the operators of racetracks and betting platforms, according to the lawsuit.
HOW DO I KNOW IF I’M AFFECTED?
Platforms named in the lawsuit include Elite Turf Club LLC and Velocity. If you placed wagers into CAW-impacted horserace betting pools on thoroughbred horseraces while not using a CAW account, you may be affected. Fill out the form to find out your rights »
HORSE BETTING SCHEME EXPLAINED
The lawsuit highlights various ways the insider betting groups can exploit ordinary bettors who go through slower retail or web interfaces. Exploited advantages include:
- rebates/low host-fee deals that are unavailable to the public/retail players,
- preferential access and execution quality,
- ability to move prices when public bettors are stuck with worse final odds than they bought,
- an informational advantage allowing programmatic scanning of odds that a human is incapable of replicating,
- an ability to hedge and diversify across pools in ways impractical for retail users and
- an advantage in risk management.
The net effect of these advantages allows insider betting group members to enjoy cheaper prices, faster execution, better information, and scale – advantages that compound in a pari-mutuel system, where one side’s edge directly reduces the other’s, according to the lawsuit. The insiders do not just enjoy higher margins but are playing an entirely different game to the detriment of retail players.
WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF COMPUTER-ASSISTED WAGERING?
The entities named in the lawsuit conducted an enterprise to achieve their goal, according to the lawsuit, which opens with a quote from a Guardian reporter on the subject: “Cash-strapped racetracks are selling out everyday bettors to whales who use algorithms to wager huge sums at friendlier odds. It’s a rigged system designed for the rich to get richer.”
YOUR RIGHTS AS A RETAIL BETTOR
According to the lawsuit, wagering profits are now the result of an organized scheme that violates federal law, including unjust enrichment, conspiracy, conversion and violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, the same law brought against members of the Mafia for organized criminal behavior. Hagens Berman believes everyday retail bettors are being harmed by this scheme which systematically favors the wealthy few insiders who benefit from this manipulation and collusion. The lawsuit seeks to recover damages suffered by those using accounts not assisted by AI and other computerized advantages.
TOP CONSUMER CLASS-ACTION LAW FIRM
Hagens Berman is one of the most successful employment and antitrust litigation law firms in the U.S. and has achieved total settlements valued at more than $340 billion for class members and clients in lawsuits against some of the world’s most powerful corporations. Hagens Berman has achieved many monumental victories in lawsuits, including high-tech cases involving the duplicitous use of AI and algorithmic advantages. Your claim will be handled by attorneys with deep experience in both technology and forensic accounting applied to complex litigation.
NO COST TO YOU
There is no scenario where any class member will be asked to pay out-of-pocket attorney fees or legal costs. In the event Hagens Berman or any other firm obtains a settlement that provides benefits to class members, the court will decide a reasonable fee to be awarded to the class’s legal team.
