Westgate SuperBook has called for an investigation into what it claims to be illegal bets. The operator has argued that a number of suspicious bets were made prior to Tom Brady’s announcement that he would be returning to football with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, less than two months after revealing his retirement to the world.
Last week, according to a Westgate and a number of Las Vegas-based sportsbooks, a series of bets were made on the Buccaneers to win next year's NFL Championship. These bets came before the footballing legend’s recent announcement and have raised concern among operators.
These illicit bets came from players described as “sharps”, professional wagerers who are known for having insider information.
Jay Kornegay, Vice President of Westgate SuperBook, noted: “There’s not a doubt in my mind they knew he was coming back when they placed those wagers on Thursday. And these were not casual bettors. They would be categorized as educated bettors. It was a player we would describe as sharp.
“With that type of play and the announcement we heard he was unretiring, there was information that was shared prior to his official announcement.”
According to analysts at NBC Sports, it is not unlikely that a number of people had insider information regarding Brady’s announcement.
Kornegay added: “There is no doubt in my mind information leaked sometime in the middle of last week. This is concerning.”
This controversy is yet to be brought before any legal authority. Before it does, however, the sportsbooks involved will hope that evidence confirming insider information can be found in order to substantiate their claims.
