The Obscure Tech at the Heart of the Bombshell NBA Gambling Scandal

Ever since the invention of card games, players have been looking for ways to stack decks. Now, with the development of automatic card shufflers, it appears that one group well-practiced in such illegal activities – the Costa Nostra Mafia – has found a new way to rig the games for easy money. And, oddly enough, these games allegedly involved a bunch of current and former NBA officials and players, who are now in quite a bit of trouble.

a new one Federal complaint Claims that members of organized crime families hosted games that used hacked card shufflers These shufflers allowed players to play accordingly and win big time, the indictment claims. The story was basically Taken by Wired, Which says it managed to reproduce a hack of a certain brand of card shuffler, Deckmate 2.

The complaint does not mention the brand of deck shuffler relevant to the case, though Wired reported the following:

In their games…some of the alleged defendants reportedly used pre-rigged DeckMate 2 shufflers to control their own machines instead of hacking into other-owned machines via their USB ports. [the machines can also be hacked, the outlet notes].

However, the alleged schemers at the heart of the case are also said to have used a whole assortment of other wacky technologies to stack the odds in their favor. According to the complaint, those technologies included “electronic poker chip trays” that “could secretly read the cards placed on the poker table.” They also used card analyzers that were “loaded onto decoy cellular telephones”. Finally, they were also accused of using cards that were decorated with hidden “markers”, the choices of which were only visible to “persons wearing specially designed contact lenses or sunglasses”. Total less godfatherMore James Bond.

The defendants listed in the suit include a member of the Bonanno crime family, multiple associates and members of the Gambino crime family and a former member of the Genovese crime family, among many other co-conspirators. The games were allegedly held in New York City, and the indictment said organizers would invite wealthy players and try to encourage their participation by involving “well-known former professional athletes” in the games. In fact, several NBA members have been arrested as part of the investigation into the scheme, including Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, former Cleveland Cavaliers player and assistant coach Damon Jones. Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier was arrested as part of a separate investigation into an illegal sports betting scheme that used inside information, ESPN wrote.

Even beyond the alleged cheating, the games in question were illegal, the complaint states (gambling for money without the proper license is illegal in New York). Ironically, the complaint claims that many participants still thought they were participating in “live” illegal games — ostensibly illegal games that were being played fairly. Instead, the complaint alleged:

…Defendants and their co-conspirators…worked together on cheating teams (collectively, the “cheating teams”) that used advanced wireless technology to read the cards dealt in each poker hand and relay that information to defendants and co-conspirators participating in illegal poker games (collectively, “). Defendants and their co-conspirators then placed bets accordingly so that unsuspecting victims would lose money. lost

The indictment states that the games in question were “on the record” and conducted with the express permission and approval of certain organized crime family members and associates of La Cosa Nostra, who provided support and protection for the games and collected outstanding debts from the games in exchange for a portion of the illegal gambling proceeds.” The indictment added that the defendants made “millions” through the scheme.

This is also not the first time we have heard about shuffling machine hacking. Back in 2023, Wired report On the work of security researchers at Blackhat who have shown that it is quite easy to penetrate the defenses of devices like Deckmate. Gizmodo has reached out to Deckmate’s parent company, Light & Magic, for comment. The company issued the following statement: “We are aware of news reports regarding allegations against the named defendants, who are not affiliated with our company. We sell and lease our automated card shufflers and other gaming products and services only to licensed casinos and other licensed gaming establishments. We will cooperate with any law enforcement investigation related to this directive.”