Tennis’s New Concern: Data Harvesting
by Greg Bishop and John Martin, The New York Times
MELBOURNE, Australia — The strangest story of this Australian Open so far involved a man, a smartphone, a consultant service for online gambling, a tennis match, an arrest, allegations of corruption, a new law and much confusion. Naturally, it unfolded without precedent.
This story also brought new attention to the gambling boom around professional tennis and introduced many to the term courtsiding.
The accused is Daniel Dobson, 22, of Britain. The police said he came to the tournament last week with an electronic device stitched inside his clothing and linked to a smartphone. They said he used these devices to relay the outcome of points to his employer, Sporting Data, as much as 10 seconds faster than those results could be transmitted through official channels.
Dobson was arrested and charged with engaging in conduct to corrupt a betting outcome. The accusation fell under a law passed in the Australian state of Victoria last April called the Integrity in Sports Act, which was supported and promoted by a coalition of sports organizations, including Tennis Australia.