The sports betting ecosystem has been abuzz after FanDuel employee Shams Charania reported that Scott Henderson “was gaining a lot of momentum” as the second overall pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft.
That didn’t happen: Brandon Miller went to the Hornets with that pick, but Charania’s tweet just hours before the draft dramatically altered the betting market for the second overall pick.
Sources: Scoot Henderson is getting a big push at No. 2 with the Charlotte Hornets in tonight’s NBA draft. Hornets have been torn over the past week between Henderson and Brandon Miller. The team has final meetings today to decide the decision.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 22, 2023
FanDuel had Henderson up to +400 before the 12:28pm tweet. In the minutes that followed, Henderson, who was the No. 2 overall, fell to a price as high as -900. Thousands of casual fans piled on Henderson’s dollars because of that Charania tweet.
Since then, conspirators across the betting space have cried foul, alleging Charania’s lack of suitability at the behest of his sportsbook employer.
For its part, FanDuel said the company has no advance knowledge of any news Charania may release.
“FanDuel is not aware of any news of Shams breaking into their platforms,” a FanDuel spokesperson told Action Network on Friday amid the backlash.
While FanDuel of course pocketed the money bettors gave Henderson at terrible odds, they also left the Miller market hanging at +480 as a result.
Sports betting wouldn’t disclose P&Ls with Action Network, but overall, drafts are losing steam for sports betting as a whole, especially compared to traditional markets, where a profit is usually guaranteed.
“I don’t think anything nefarious is going on, but I find it baffling that a regulated sportsbook would allow itself to take bets on the NBA Draft and also employ an ‘insider’ who can tweet nonsense that could move the betting markets,” he said. the ex Haralabos Voulgaris, Mavericks executive on Twitter.
There are currently no state or federal regulations to prevent alleged conflicts of interest. Ethically, partnerships between journalists, their publications and sports betting are fair game, as long as there is no cheating or corrupt cooperation in these deals.
Requests for comment made to Charania and the NBA were not immediately returned.
As Thursday wore on, Charania’s vision grew fainter and fainter. Several other NBA experts, including ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, indicated that Miller had been the guy all along. Soon, Henderson was back to being the long shot. Miller closed at roughly -600 odds to finish second overall.
After Miller’s take, Wojnarowski tweeted, “All along, the entire Charlotte Hornets organization has been dedicated to Brandon Miller: ownership, front office, scouts, coaches.”
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