Poker pros dragged into mass sports betting fraud

Multiple unauthorised sports betting s using professional poker players’ names have been created in recent weeks, according to several reports.

This alarming increase in sports betting fraud may be a result of the FIFA World Cup, which is ongoing in Qatar. The culprits stand to make huge profits given this will be the most wagered-on tournament in history due to the increase in licensed sportsbooks in the United States and all over the world.

These s have been created using the personal information of poker players who are experts, as well as “unauthorized bank withdrawals of up to $10,000”.

A renowned pro poker player in California, Todd Witteles, said in a statement on Friday that an at BetMGM West Virginia was created in his name. He explained that he has never opened an with the betting operator and has not been to West Virginia before.

“They withdrew to a different on the same day without ever playing on the ,” Witteles said.

“This is definitely the worst case of any kind of bank theft in poker history.

“I’ve seen cheating scandals at the poker table, online and live that have resulted in bigger thefts than this, but as far as directly stealing out of people’s bank s, I’ve never seen anything like this.”

A handful of these fake s were created on BetMGM’s sports betting app. The company has launched a thorough investigation since the dealings were reported.

“We’re aware of a potential incident and are actively investigating,” a BetMGM representative said.

“The security of our patrons’ s is of the utmost importance to us. We encourage any impacted patrons to our customer service department directly.”

Several other victims have come out to share their own unfortunate experiences with these sports betting fraudsters. Las Vegas poker pro Joseph Cheong revealed via Twitter that $9,800 had been withdrawn from his BetMGM . Some victims who were scammed for a lesser amount have already been refunded by the operator, according to a report.

BetMGM’s online payment provider, Global Payments Gaming Solutions, has also released a statement saying it was assisting the authorities in their investigations.

“There has been no security breach or fraudulent s opened at our gaming business in connection with this investigation,” a spokesperson from Global Payments said.

“The protection of our customers and their clients’ information and funds is our top priority and we are working with these third parties to ensure any impacted individuals are refunded.”

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