Columbus, OH – According to Thoroughbred Daily News, “Former horse racing gambler Ryan Dickey has filed a class action lawsuit against several entities related to wagering platforms offered to Computer Assisted Wagering (CAW) players under the under the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”) and under state law, alleging they have “‘organized and participated in the corruption of the betting system to the detriment of the class.’”
TDN writer Dan Ross reports that “the lawsuit was filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The dependents comprise The Stronach Group (TSG), Churchill Downs, the New York Racing Association (NYRA), AmTote International, United Tote and Elite Turf Club.”
The plaintiff, Dickey, filed the lawsuit “on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated,” against the CAW players that use sophisticated algorithms and place large wagers just before betting is cut off before races that significantly change the odds and that they receive special rates and rebates not available to average bettors.
The lawsuit claims that “a privileged group of insider ‘bettors’ (the ‘Insider Betting Group) who control vast sums of money’ have conspired with the defendants “to rig the United States betting pools in their favor to divert money from the betting pools to the Insider Betting Group to the defendants and away from the nonprivileged or average bettor.
“As a result of this scheme, the betting pools are not being operated lawfully as pari-mutuel wagering and have become illegal gambling operations. And the ‘odds’ presented to the average bettor at the time a bet is placed are false as a result of the manipulation of the bettors’ pool described below.”
To read the complete Thoroughbred Daily News story by Dan Ross, click here.
To read the lawsuit, RYAN DICKEY, on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated, v. THE STRONACH GROUP, INC.; STRONACH GROUP SERVICES, LLC; CHURCHILL DOWNS, INC.; THE NEW YORK RACING ASSOCIATION; AMTOTE INTERNATIONAL, INC.; UNITED TOTE COMPANY; RACING AND GAMING SERVICES and ELITE TURF CLUB, LLC, click here.