NFL FORUM

So DK tweeted out millionaire maker ownership here http://playbook.draftkings.com/nfl/millionaire-maker-percent-owned-week-3/ which as of 230pm still includes ownership data for games that have not yet started. IMO this is a big leak and should never happen. It also seems like something that your average analyst should probably not have access too, and able to tell his buddies who is owned and who the best players have. Hey did you know that CSURAM has Randall Cobb going late? Given that they can access the macro results it seems probable they can access specific users during and/or before contests start.

They definitely should no be sharing it publicly, if they’re going to do it just list the full rosters in the contest and call it a day.

i don’t know that he did. But based on a number of incidents and odd coincidences coupled with an erosion of belief in site integrity; the very real possibility that he or others do is there along with other types of unfairness, I hope I am wrong., I enjoy playing DFS and play small stakes with mild profitability but mainly for the competition with $ as validation .

Well said hokie!

This is a very good and reasonable post. I can’t say I disagree with any of it, even if I don’t end up at the same conclusions. The only thing I will say is that from what I understand, Ethan did not get data he should not have had. He gets this data every week after lineup lock to write his article for the DK Playbook. The “error” occurred when he posted that article while there was still potential for late swaps on the site.

https://rotogrinders.com/profiles/petrgibbons

took me less time to find it than it would have taken you to actually write your post

Imagine if dfs gets regulated because of this Ethan will go down in history because of his brain fart posting that article.

Great point. The sites themselves are basically saying “you work here, you potentially have access to certain information that gives you an unfair advantage, so you can’t play here”

But please, feel free to take that advantage to other sites.

Ridiculous.

There are DK playbook writers who do play on DK. Adam Levitan? Clearly DK is drawing a distinction between Adam and Ethan, and it would be naive to think it’s limited to ownership %.

It’s still there

https://rotogrinders.com/profiles/petrgibbons

He absolutely got data he should not have had. I’m not questioning Ethan’s character or attacking him, but it’s entirely possible that he could share that data with a friend who plays on DK.

please all of you go listen to dan back’s podcast….pleeeeeeeeeease

Seriously…the guy referenced posted a forum thread dedicated, sarcastically as a hub for “Tin Foil Hat” banter. If he can have fun with this, so can others who fall on the other side of the argument.

stew, I agree

as I have stated earlier I think the whole ethan / playbook article is really … … … I hesitate to say “nothing” but it’s damn close to it.

What it did do is raise awareness that these sites really truly do have zero protections against data leaks, I would guess except for maybe some policies saying you can’t do it – but if you’ve made mid-six, low-seven figures playing DFS, what are they going to do, fire you?

I mean, it might not even be against the rules as they are now!

So yeah the ethan thing – just raises some bigger issues.

I wonder how much him posting that playbook article early will end up costing DK long-term, after they spend a bunch of money implementing fixes (hopefully)? Not that the playbook article was that significant – but like I said it’s raised the issue, and that’s important. And the fixes needed will have to go beyond making sure articles aren’t posted before all games have locked, obviously. Way way beyond that.

What I would give to have access to that database of contest info and be able to query it … AND to have access to the W/L and profit/loss data for high-volume players? That … my gosh … you could really catapult yourself from being a good player to being an elite player almost over night with that kind of info. Anyone who says it wouldn’t be an advantage is not understanding it properly.

The fact that there’s a fanduel employee who has done basically exactly that … … … lets just hope they put a stop to it now. These sites really do seem quite amateurish in almost every aspect of their operation. I hope some of the smart people who invested big money in these sites get involved and force them to become professionals, so that everybody doesn’t lose their stake in this game.

As a fairly high volume player this makes me sick to my stomache. The general statements provided by FD & DK aren’t making me feel any better either.

Ethan’s comment in the thread stating that he is the only employee with access to the data is extremely worrisome and contradicts the DK statement that there are “internal controls”. How could there be a checks and balance system if Ethan is the only person with access to the data?

This is not good, not good at all.

haha i am honored :D seriously tho…listen to dan back’s podcast…sums up the logical issues and completely insane non issues with this thread

I didn’t hear him address the petrgibbons issue at all.

he talked about employees of one site playing on other sites

I think Ethan meant he was the only one sent the data to do the article. I could be wrong, thats just how I read it.

Still seems crazy that writing an article would give him access to that data.

I just listened to Dan’s podcast. I’m just a small stakes player but after really listening to Dan and reading this thread I’m done playing. I cancelled my incentives membership and after the NFL contests finish I’ll withdrawal from the sites.

Thank you Dan.

the article was on ownership percentages. why wouldnt he get ownership percentage numbers to write an article on ownership percentages?

Well said

Yeah he can get it on Tuesday when the contest is done like everyone else, why should he be able to get it any earlier. Obviously they don’t have the proper controls in place.

I don’t think it’s an Ethan thing at all. I just think he brought the control deficiency in to light. It’s clear to me that the sites need very strong operational risk management teams in place and it’s not a requirement that they know anything about daily fantasy sports. One sector I’d look to in order to fill that type of team would be the Financial sector – as most Banks are really just large technology companies at this point (or are moving that direction) and many of the key risks inherent to their processes would translate well into DFS (for many reasons).

I also think what’s very important is that people realize that regulation doesn’t mean control breakdowns won’t occur. Bank of America – one of the most regulated and risk controlled companies on earth – has control breakdowns that occur regularly when it comes to operational risk (people, process, systems and external events). So for people to scream “regulation” as the key control for the remediation of people related risk is not very smart. What would be smart is for the sites to:

1. Proactively begin to build operational risk management teams.
2. Begin documenting the functions within their company, the processes within each individual function, the risks inherent to those processes, and the controls for those risks.
3. Document any gaps or control deficiencies that don’t effectively manage their key risks
4. Document remediation plans, inclusive of milestones and dates for the completion of each milestone for their key risks

Documentation seem like a key theme here? It should.

This would represent a response that regulators would look for if they showed up today in Boston – and regulatory oversight aside – providing that response as their course of action would make everyone feel better than the response provided thus far.

-Adam

Because no one, especially people that are allowed to play DFS, should be given that information. Period. End of story.

I think we all would get along fine, our lives intact, without his article as a consequence.

.

Well said. I would add that hiring an outside PR firm would be useful