A British citizen has been arrested in Melbourne after ‘sending updates from courtside to friend who was betting on matches using TV odds where there was a 10-second delay’. This constitutes a sports wagering crime for which the British man will have to appear in court in Melbourne to answer to charges related to what local police say is the world’s first arrest for illegal courtside gambling.
The British citizen, who is 22 years old and has not been named publicly, is supposed to have been acting for an Eastern European or perhaps a Central Asian gambling syndicate. Apparently he was using a hidden device at the Australian Open in Melbourne and gave the recipient of his messages an advantage due to a 10 second delay between what was actually happening and what was being seen on TV.
It’s not clear yet which match was being intercepted by the scammers, but the Australian Open in Melbourne attracted some of the biggest names in the sport including Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova.