Gambling: William Hill's app crash and embezzlement scheme

This week's gambling news from J. Todd is all about William Hill’s recent troubles that are being investigated by the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

First, the William Hill app crashed just prior to the Super Bowl betting frenzy, and to make up for it, the bookmaker is shelling out tens of thousands of dollars in "free sports bets.” Secondly, the Nevada Gaming Control Board just busted a William Hill embezzlement scheme by some of its employees.

App crashes before the Big Game:
On the biggest sports betting day in America, the William Hill app crashed for bettors in Nevada just prior to kickoff. Some players were unable to place bets on the app. What could be worse? How about the players who placed bets before the crash who were not able to collect their winnings. Some were told that there will be no payouts.

Now, the Nevada Gaming Control Board is getting involved and investigating the issues. In a statement to local news outlets the Board said they were “aware of the issue” and that their agents are currently investigating the matter.

Embezzlement scheme uncovered:
The Nevada Gaming Control Board also needed to get involved in another William Hill issue recently when it was discovered that employees from the bookmaker was embezzling money. Unfortunately, this was not until the criminals had pilfered over $100,000 from the company.

Control Board Agents were tipped to the thefts back in December, when William Hill reported potential fraud to the agency using internal information from its sports betting kiosks. And while the full impact of the crime has not been disclosed, the company, which is owned by Caesars, has well over a 100 sportsbook locations in the state.

There have been no public comments about the William Hill embezzlement operation from the company or from Caesars. However, public records of court documents name two individuals: Shravan Singh, who is charged with embezzlement, forgery, and more, while Paige Steiner is facing nearly 300 charges related to burglary, grand larceny and conspiracy.