Alternate Broadcast

WELL, THAT DIDN’T TAKE LONG…

You regular readers are probably tired of my non-stop drumbeat of what Big Data and Major League sports teams are up to, and my educated opinion is, as you know, they are up to no good. Here are a couple articles I wrote regarding these partnerships and what the future holds. The first is about Big Data and how it will be collected and used (against you) and the second is the notion that somehow the US Congress is going to protect the integrity of the data collected.

We got news earlier this week that the New Frontier in online sports fan engagement and collection of data is nigh! ESPN reported this which was quickly covered and trumpeted from all sorts of unusual places, such as this story in something called The Week (my apologies if you are a fan of The Week, but prior to this, I had never heard of it).

In the age of Facebook, I suppose no one should be surprised. And probably most people do not care that their data is being collected to be used against them, in all kinds of nefarious ways. The Cambridge Analytica/Facebook scandal is the perfect example.

It is my opinion that Facebook was devised to do exactly what it has been doing with Cambridge Analytica, and many other users of its vast data treasure trove. In other words, this is the express purpose of Facebook, whether Mr. Zuckerberg will admit it or not. So, it’s really not a scandal, this has been the Facebook business model all along!

The second paragraph of the CNBC article sums it all up quite nicely…

The allegations have heightened concerns over whether such data was then used to try and influence the outcome of the 2016 U.S. presidential election and the Brexit vote.

Of course they used “such data” “to try and influence the outcome…” But I’m going to stop right there with corrupted elections and bring it back to sports and data collection from sports fans. The ESPN article quotes Damon Phillips, NBC Sports Washington Plus (the owner of the Washington Bullets, er, Wizards) its senior vice president and general manager, who had this to say:

“Combining the excitement of live Wizards games with engaging predictive gaming and data feeds will deliver a very entertaining experience for viewers, from first-time gaming players to savvy sports bettors.”

Let me take it a little farther. If you read the ESPN article, you will note NBC Sports Washington Plus is offering a sweet $500 prize to a lucky participant. It doesn’t say how the prize will be awarded, for just simply participating, or making the most accurate predictions. But that doesn’t matter in the slightest!

 The Action Network has an app that allows users (read: sports gambler) to enter picks into the app to easily track wins and losses. Just like the predictive contest discussed above, Action Network is giving away cash prizes to participants.

Free Money!!!

For them.

This is not about making sports more fun and interactive for the viewer or the gambler. This is all about getting data from participants, for free, to crunch and make profiles of how sports gamblers would bet on the situations or outcomes offered to them.

Just like in the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scam, this same scam is being perpetrated on you, the unsuspecting sports bettor. Or wannabe sports bettor. The collected data will allow the data marketers to not only assist sportsbooks in making more efficient betting lines, but it will have the ability to identify you and provide your betting profile to predict how you will bet! To anyone who wants to buy it!

Every casino and every sportsbook in every town I have ever been in wants you to get your player’s card that allows you to unlock all kinds of fabulous rewards, for simply using the card. You bet they do. And if you use one, they know everything about how you bet.

Personally, I decline all those offers. And I will not be playing along on Friday with the Wizards and Bucks contest.

You should opt out, too.