Data Analyst’s Seven-Second Delay Scam Cost Sportsbooks $240K, Police Say

Four people have been jailed pending trial in Turkey over an alleged sports betting fraud in which a data analyst delayed live match updates by seven seconds, allowing associates to place wagers after the outcome of a point was already known.

Prosecutors say the scheme cost sports data company Spordata and the licensed sportsbooks it served around 12 million Turkish lira ($240,000).

Eight suspects were detained during raids on Oct. 23. Four were ordered held pending trial and four released under judicial supervision Tuesday, according to Turkey’s Anadolu Agency. An analyst at the center of the investigation has been in custody since July.

How the Delay Worked

The analyst, identified by prosecutors as O.B., worked for Spordata, which supplies sports data and betting infrastructure to licensed operators.

Investigators allege he deliberately waited around seven seconds before entering updates from sporting events, particularly tennis and volleyball matches, into the live betting system.

Typically, when a player wins a point, betting markets must be suspended or odds adjusted to reflect the new score. By briefly withholding that information, the analyst allegedly left markets displaying outdated information while associates placed bets on events whose results were already known.

According to Turkish broadcaster Habertürk, Spordata reported suspicious activity to prosecutors in June after investigating substantial losses. The company allegedly summoned the employee to explain irregularities, but he resigned before the meeting.

Investigators subsequently examined system logs, surveillance footage, and the analyst’s electronic communications.

Messages and Money Transfers

WhatsApp messages recovered from his devices allegedly show him soliciting betting accounts from acquaintances and discussing how the operation would work.

In one exchange quoted by Habertürk, he allegedly wrote, “I’m managing the system right now.” Other messages discussed account limits and payments to associates.

The analyst reportedly denied knowing how the betting delay mechanism worked or communicating about matches through messaging applications. But Habertürk reported that he had previously helped train new Spordata employees on the system’s delay functions.

A review by Turkey’s Financial Crimes Investigation Board, known as MASAK, identified 192 million lira (approximately $3.9 million) in combined incoming and outgoing transactions through the analyst’s bank accounts.

The analyst was arrested July 21. Investigators later identified eight suspected associates, including relatives and his girlfriend, leading to the October raids and the latest detention orders.